Defining cloud computing

• Components of a computing cloud
• Differentiating types of clouds: public, private, hybrid

Delivering services from the cloud

• Categorising service types
• Comparing vendor cloud products: Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others

Key drivers of cloud computing solutions

• Instantaneous provisioning of computing resources
• Tapping into an infinite storage capacity
• Cost-effective pay-as-you-use billing models

Evaluating barriers to cloud computing

• Handling sensitive data
• Aspects of cloud security
• Assessing governance solutions

Characterising SaaS

• Streamlining administration with centralised installation
• Optimising cost and performance with scale on demand

Comparing service scenarios

• Improving collaboration with business productivity tools
• Simplifying business process creation by integrating existing components

Inspecting SaaS technologies

• Deploying web applications
• Implementing web services: SOAP, REST
• Choosing a development platform

Exploring the technical foundation for PaaS

• Specifying the components of PaaS
• Analysing vendor PaaS provisions
• Selecting an appropriate implementation

Building services with solution stacks

• Evaluating the architecture of vendor-specific platforms
• Becoming familiar with service platform tools

Managing cloud storage

• Controlling unstructured data in the cloud
• Deploying relational databases in the cloud
• Improving data availability

Employing support services

• Testing in the cloud
• Monitoring cloud-based services
• Analysing portability across platforms

Enabling technologies

• Scalable server clusters
• Achieving transparency with platform virtualisation
• Elastic storage devices

Accessing IaaS

• Provisioning servers on demand
• Handling dynamic and static IP addresses
• Tools and support for management and monitoring

Deploying a Private Cloud

• Leveraging an existing infrastructure
• Comparing OpenStack and Eucalyptus
• Managing resources across teams and departments
• Integrating with public clouds

Calculating the financial implications

• Comparing in-house facilities to the cloud
• Estimating economic factors downstream

Preserving business continuity

• Selecting appropriate service-level agreements
• Safeguarding access to assets in the cloud
• Security, availability and disaster recovery strategies

Migrating to the cloud

• Rearchitecting applications for the cloud
• Integrating the cloud with existing applications
• Selecting a vendor and avoiding vendor lock-in