Where there is the cloud, confusion all too often follows. That’s no great surprise. Ever since cloud computing started to become popular, cloud-washing — the pasting of the word cloud on any old software — has become popular too.

 

The odd thing about this is that, thanks to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), we’ve long have a good working definition of cloud computing (PDF Link). While the final NIST document didn’t appear until January 2011, ever since the first draft showed up in late 2009, most serious cloud professionals have been using their definition.

 

And what is it, you ask? Simple: “Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”

What is a Cloud? Here’s what makes up a Real Deal Cloud. More >