Cloud Computing – A Classification, Business Models, and Research Directions

Abstract

Lately, a new computing paradigm has emerged: “Cloud Computing”. It seems to be pro- moted as heavily as the “Grid” was a few years ago, causing broad discussions on the differ- ences between Grid and Cloud Computing. The first contribution of this paper is thus a de- tailed discussion about the different characteristics of Grid Computing and Cloud Computing. This technical classification allows for a well-founded discussion of the business opportuni- ties of the Cloud Computing paradigm. To this end, this paper first presents a business mod- el framework for Clouds. It subsequently reviews and classifies current Cloud offerings in the light of this framework. Finally, this paper discusses challenges that have to be mastered in order to make the Cloud vision come true and points to promising areas for future research.