So, what is cloud computing anyway? The industry abounds with many diverse definitions (for a quick summary of the consensus, jump to the bottom of this page.)  Here at ENKI, we see it as a collection of resources – computing power, memory, storage capacity, applications, and managed services – delivered as a service over the Internet or over a private network connection. Essentially, it’s your very own private, staffed data center without walls. The key benefits of cloud computing are:

	Pay-as-you-go billing. Sometimes called “utility billing,” you pay monthly for the resources you need, as an operating expense.
	Scalability. You can add resources as you need them. Then you can scale back down when the resources are no longer required.  You can even deploy automation to do it for you, based on demand.
	Flexibility. Cloud computing adjusts to your growing business. Add resources quickly, reconfigure your application, or deploy new software without upfront capital outlay.  Often, changes that took days or weeks with physical servers can be done in minutes.
	Efficiency. Focus your resources on your core business, not putting out the latest IT fire. Reduce time-to-market for new applications.  Spend staffing dollars on strategic hires instead of IT operations.  Leverage industry best practices from an experienced provider without developing them yourself.
	Cost-Effectiveness. Avoid purchasing, installing, and maintaining hardware that depreciates and largely sits idle. Eliminate the need to hire, train, and manage a skilled 24x7 IT staff. Enjoy a predictable monthly operating expense rather than depleting your valuable capital resources

Is cloud computing right for you?

Are you a start-up or a growing business? Cloud computing is ideal for an information-based start-up (web 2.0, ecommerce, media delivery), or a small to medium company experiencing high growth. Harness enterprise-level computing power without the associated costs. There’s no capital outlay for expensive equipment and the associated software, not to mention the installation, configuration, and management of that hardware. You don’t have to recruit, train and pay benefits for a full technology staff. If you have the idea and the application… we’ll help you do the rest.  Call us before you hire any production IT staff - and you won't need to!  Create a scalable enterprise with no venture capital, and no need for a physical location!

Colocation Users Take the hassle out of hosting your applications. With cloud computing, you control your own data center without owning or operating a single server. Free up your capital dollars, and say good-bye to spur of the moment trips to the data center. If you have fluctuating traffic or seasonal business, scale up resources in minutes. And when your business slows down, you’re not left with unused equipment. We provide unparalleled security and reliability (up to 4 nines or beyond!). We’re available in just about every major data center worldwide, and our multi-gigabit data network infrastructure provides blazing fast Internet access as well as private point-to-point connections. Let ENKI be your primary service provider.

Want to avoid disaster?  Do you feel 100% confident your data will survive a catastrophe? Are you in an industry with compliance requirements for business continuity? Do you have data retention obligations you must meet? Cloud computing is the answer. You can easily create a complete backup of your server array in the cloud. We cost-effectively archive your company’s data or operate a hot-standby datacenter, and it’s readily available should you need it. Our industry-leading service level agreements (SLAs) will protect your critical business information from loss or destruction.

Information-Based Companies: Thinking of launching a new service, or adding a new business unit? Cloud computing let’s you test a new service prototype in a “virtual sandbox.” Test and fine tune multiple alternatives in the cloud before you ever go live with actual customers. Self-contain a new business unit in the cloud, without having to hire technical staff and purchase equipment. Use the cloud to support a marketing initiative and dispose of the resources you used when you are done.  Cloud computing actually enables you to speed up your development process and shorten time-to-market intervals.

The Three Types of Cloud Computing

The taxonomy of Cloud divides it into three categories, each of which offers an alternative to providing all or part of the application service for yourself:

1. Software-as-a-Service, which delivers an application to the end-user, requiring no software or IT skills on the part of the end user
2. Platform-as-a-Service, which delivers a software development and execution environment for the programmer, who installs his application in it
3. Infrastructure-as-a-Service, which delivers reliable infrastructure to the application deployer or IT department, upon which they install the language platform and their application

The three types of cloud computing, and the decisionmaking process used to trade them off against doing it yourself are shown in the picture below.  We will be happy to send you a pocket reference card on request.