[Information Technology] Cloud computing

Another post regarding information technology!
This time, I want to introduce the concept of cloud computing. Wikipedia defines it as an “Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand, like a public utility.”
I tried to find a clip that can explain this concept in layman’s terms, and the following clip seemed to fulfill my needs.
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2009/11/19/tm_cloud_microsoft_salesforce.fortune/
One of the guy appeared in this clip defined it as “bunch of servers someplace out.” There used to be some big in-house server that was needed in a corporation to run softwares and systems, and this whole concept seems to have just replaced those requirements. Anybody can float around softwares through the server, and use it on demand.
The reporter also anticipates that in 2010, the whole cloud computing concept will be bigger than ever, due to some software giants’ introduction of cloud computing-based applications. One example will be 2010 MS office. At least for me, I will have to first try it and feel it to completely understand the real effect.