Cloud Computing Service Providers That Hit the Top Spots
At this very moment, Cloud computing is the most popular topic in the IT industry. Cloud computing is the core element if you think about what is essential for the future expansion of IT.
The expansion of Cloud computing can be compared to the industrial revolution since it changes the existing attitude and behavior but in no way it can be identified as either a product or a form of technology, but a phenomenon that is destined to become mainstream in the near future simply because it offers a change for the better.
You are probably wondering who the major players in this field are? Well, there are many Cloud computing service providers out there but just a few names have made it in the top 5 finals: Amazon, Google, Salesforce, Rackspace and Microsoft. What make these companies so special when it comes to Cloud computing are their innovative skills, track records and customer traction.
Why Amazon?
Located in Seattle, Amazon belongs to one of the true inventors in Web-based computing. Data storage space and pay-as-you-go virtual server access are just the basics this Cloud computing giant has to offer. In addition, Amazon offers the CloudFront (a content delivery Web service), the SimpleDB, (a database Web service) and the Simple Queue Service (a hosted Web service with storing messages feature).
We can say with no doubt that Amazon is a pioneer in Cloud computing, simply because they were the first ones. Their career as a Cloud computing service provider started in 2006 with the launch of the Elastic Compute Cloud. Today, thousands of enterprises, small businesses, and individuals use Amazon’s Cloud computing services. Some of the renowned customers include the Washington Post and New York Times.
Why Google?
Google’s cloud offering, better known as Google Apps, has its purpose to improve online office productivity. Their main tools include website creation tool, word processing, e-mail and calendaring. A set of archiving and e-mail security services, better known as Postini makes your already existing e-mail system more manageable and secure. Google Cloud computing offer also includes Google App Engine that gives an opportunity to developers to create applications and host them on Google’s infrastructure.
Google became an Internet icon and we can surely say that Google is Internet’s best friend. While we still connect Google to its search engine and crawling the Web alone, Google’s descent into Cloud computing is definitely accelerating industry’s renaissance from packaged software to Web hosted services. At this moment many small enterprises, businesses and colleges uses Google’s Cloud computing services, Arizona State University being one of them.
Why Salesforce?
Located in San Francisco, Salesforce belongs to one of the celebrities in Cloud computing. Their service includes a set of CRM tools such as Salesforce automation and analytics, various marketing tools as well as social networking tools. Another great offering of Salesforce is Force.com, which is a platform used for creating Web apps and hosting them on the Salesforce infrastructure.
Salesforce helped greatly in development and advancement of the SaaS (software-as-a-service) market, which is now popularly called “Cloud computing.” Salesforce has a goal to move as further as possible into the platform-as-a-service market that is on a good way of revolutionizing how businesses develop and deliver apps to their customers and end users. Thousands of companies belonging to various industries including healthcare, finance, retail, communications, etc. use services of Salesforce, and are happy to recommend them.
Why Rackspace?
Based on San Antonio, Rackspace is one of the major players in Cloud computing. Their Rackspace Cloud, popularly known as “Mosso” offers three major services: Amazon EC2-like service (gives access to virtual server instances), Cloud sites (a platform that is used for developing websites), and Cloud Files (a simple storage service).
For a long time, Rackspace has been offering services of the hosted data center and has become a trustworthy name on the Internet. With their cloud Mosso, Rackspace is obviously aiming at the infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service markets, which are the key areas for Web users interested in building Web-hosted apps. Mosso is mainly used by SaaS providers and web developers.
Why Microsoft?
There’s not much to be say about Microsoft that hasn’t been already said. Their cloud offering, better known as Azure, is a Windows-as-a-service platform that consists of the OS and developer services. These developer services are made to be used in the purpose of developing and enhancing Web-hosted apps.
The Windows Azure platform is flexible and very easy to use cloud–computing platform, perfect for addressing the needs of your business and customers. It operates in a secure environment with 99.9% uptime. The main motto is pay only for what you use, expand when you need more capacity and cancel it when you don’t. Software companies Micro Focus and Epic or are Azure’s early customers that developed cloud apps. Another valuable customer of Azure is eBay.
