Shameer Afzal

Cloud

Mobile Cloud Computing & Green Cloud Computing

Mobile cloud computing (MCC) is when you put cloud computing and mobile computing together. MCC’s goal is to bring well-executed mobile applications to an overabundance of mobile devices and to create a great experience for users. MCC is great because it creates many opportunities for both cloud providers and mobile app developers. MCC is very important because it improves the way we work with mobile applications. These apps can now be deployed remotely and can be revised swiftly through the use of cloud services. The possibilities of what we can do have increased. Mobile applications can be sent to various devices with different operating systems, data storage, and computing tasks. Mobile apps are not restricted to a device’s storage anymore and with MCC users can securely integrate and collect data. 

MCC ties in with what we learned in Cloud Architecture (MIS 3406) as well. During class, we learned about APIs and Amazon Web Services. We learned how to create servers on the cloud and how to run our own webpages on it as well. Some examples of MCC in use are Dropbox. Dropbox allows users to keep their data in cloud storage. Users can then access their data through their mobile devices and their computers. This reminds me of how we uploaded data to our own servers and then could access them from the internet. I’m sure with a little practice I could also learn to run mobile applications on the cloud using AWS. 

Green cloud computing is all about becoming more eco-conscious. It references the benefits of moving IT services to the cloud. Many companies are going green and are reducing their carbon emissions, recycling eWaste, and reducing energy consumption. A study by Google stated that if organizations switched their common programs to the cloud, they could reduce their total energy consumption by 87%. When a company becomes more cloud-based, it can allow for more workers to be remote. This can also help cut back on emissions caused by commuting and from maintaining office buildings. The cloud also allows for many things to become paperless. Everyone can access documents from their devices and it really helps the environment. There are many examples of companies trying to become greener. Part of green cloud computing is also to reduce the amount of power consumption of data centers. Google does a great job of this by using outside air for cooling and building custom servers. Their data centers use less energy than the typical data center. 

Green cloud computing reminds me of when we learned about the different kinds of machines that companies use for their servers and storage. During class, we learned about the differences between physical and virtual machines and also how IT function changes with the cloud. The cloud is much greener than using a virtual or physical machine because computing does not require power, cooling, rack space, or a data center. It is also better for companies to switch to cloud computing because it will allow them to scale and reconfigure easily. This will prevent wasted resources. If more companies switched to the cloud it would create a greener environment for us all. 

Mobile cloud computing and green cloud computing go hand in hand. They both encourage companies to use the cloud as a way to become greener and to increase the efficiency of their products and services. Companies that use mobile cloud computing are becoming greener even if they do not realize it.  MCC can reduce the energy cost of phones as well as information and communication technology. Both of these concepts are very important and will play a big role in the future of technology. 

References:

“Efficiency – Data Centers.” Google, Google, 2020, www.google.com/about/datacenters/efficiency/.