cloud provider [English]

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Syndetic Relationships

InterPARES Definition

n. ~ An entity offering management and support to cloud consumers for access to a range of ubiquitous, convenient services, including infrastructure, platform, and applications, that can be rapidly provisioned with minimal effort by the consumer.

General Notes

Services offered fall into the categories Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Providers may be part of different deployment models, including public, private, community, and hybrid models.

Other Definitions

  • NIST Security Reference 2013 (†414 p. 32): A cloud Provider is the entity responsible for making a service available to cloud Consumers (either directly or indirectly via a Broker). A cloud Provider acquires and manages the computing infrastructure required for providing the services, runs the cloud software that provides the services (at least for SaaS and PaaS service deployments), and makes arrangements to deliver the cloud services to the cloud Consumers through network access. A cloud Provider’s activities can be sorted into five major categories: · Service deployment · Service orchestration · Service management · Security · Privacy.

Citations

  • Duranti 2013 (†408 ): Cloud providers offer two choices among things that most archives would consider all non-renounceable. The first choice is between Transparency and Security: they offer “trust through technology” rather than through knowledge, objectivity, repeatability, and verifiability. Security based on technology involves location independence, a core aspect of the cloud delivery model – as mentioned earlier, because sharding and obfuscation cannot happen without spreading the records among servers in data centers around the globe. The second choice Cloud providers offer is between Control and Economy: they offer “trust through control on expenditures” rather than through the ability to audit how the documents are managed. (†497)
  • Franks 2014 (†371 ): For our RD in the Cloud group, I would like to propose including "cloud provider" (CP) in the terminology database. We will be using that term in our research project. It is a term that encompasses cloud service provider, cloud infrastructure provider, cloud storage provider, etc. Below are two sources that provide definitions: http://www.techopedia.com/definition/133/cloud-provider http://searchcloudprovider.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-provider (†375)
  • Furht and Escalante 2010 (†583 p.59): Although serving customers will presumably be the first priority of a successful cloud provider, staying in business is another, and there is a definite motivation for implementing further optimizations that cut costs for the provider without necessarily increasing benefit for any of the tenants (†1172)
  • Furht and Escalante 2010 (†583 p.69): Cloud providers offer scalable cloud services via massive data centers. In such massive-scale data centers, Data Center Network (DCN) is constructed to connect tens, sometimes hundreds, of thousands of serves to deliver massively scalable cloud services to the public. Hierarchical network design is the most common architecture used in data center networks. (†1173)
  • Search Cloud Provider (†412 s.v. "cloud provider"): A cloud provider is a company that offers some component of cloud computing – typically Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS) – to other businesses or individuals. Cloud providers are sometimes referred to as cloud service providers or CSPs. ¶ There are a number of things to think about when you evaluate cloud providers. The cost will usually be based on a per-use utility model but there are a number of variations to consider. The physical location of the servers may also be a factor for sensitive data. ¶ Reliability is crucial if your data must be accessible. A typical cloud storage service-level agreement (SLA), for example, specifies precise levels of service – such as, for example, 99.9% uptime – and the recourse or compensation that the user is entitled to should the provider fail to provide the service as described. However, it’s important to understand the fine print in that agreement because some providers discount outages of less than ten minutes, which may be too long for some businesses. ¶ Security is another important consideration. Organizations such as the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) offer certification to cloud providers that meet their criteria. The CSA's Trusted Cloud Initiative program was created to help cloud service providers develop industry-recommended, secure and interoperable identity, access and compliance management configurations and practices. ¶ Amazon was the first major cloud provider, with the 2006 offering of Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). Other cloud providers include Apple, Cisco, Citrix, IBM, Joyent, Google, Microsoft, Rackspace, Salesforce.com and Verizon/Terremark. ¶ A telecom cloud provider is a telecommunications company that has shifted its focus to dedicate existing infrastructure to provide cloud services. (†506)
  • Techopedia (†411 s.v. "cloud provider"): A cloud provider is a company that delivers cloud computing based services and solutions to businesses and/or individuals. This service organization may provide rented and provider-managed virtual hardware, software, infrastructure and other related services. Cloud services are becoming increasingly desirable for companies because they offer advantages in terms of cost, scalability and accessibility. ¶ A cloud provider is also known as a utility computing provider. This role is typically related to that of a managed service provider (MSP), but usually, the latter provides other managed IT solutions. ¶ Cloud providers are generally organizations that provide some form of IT infrastructure that is commercially distributed and sourced across several subscribers - typically businesses. Cloud providers deliver cloud solutions through on-demand, pay-as-you-go systems as a service to customers and end users. Cloud provider customers access cloud resources through Internet and programmatic access and are only billed for resources and services used according to a subscribed billing method. (†505)