An Exploration of the Cloud

Cloud computing has become one of the most frequently used terms in modern IT conversations—and one of the least clearly understood. A reader poll reported by Directions Magazine highlighted this uncertainty: participants struggled to decide whether the cloud should be defined as web services, software delivered online, virtualization, or remotely managed infrastructure. Others concluded that it was either impossible to define or simply unfamiliar.

In hindsight, the most accurate answer was missing: cloud computing is a combination of all these ideas rather than a single one. That lack of clarity matters, particularly for the GIS community. Many survey respondents were experienced geospatial professionals, yet the results suggested that even technically savvy users were unsure how cloud computing actually works. At the same time, industry reporting showed that organizations were already moving forward with cloud investments, regardless of lingering confusion.

Budgets Follow Momentum

Research cited by InformationWeek revealed a strong shift toward cloud adoption. A majority of IT managers surveyed reported allocating budget to cloud initiatives, with expectations that spending would increase over the next two years. Public and private cloud deployments were already underway for most organizations, and a significant portion of respondents viewed both platform-based services and infrastructure services as integral parts of the cloud model. Efficiency—particularly the ability to avoid building and maintaining additional internal infrastructure—was identified as the primary driver.

This momentum raises an obvious question: when so many organizations are planning for the cloud, does that imply an inevitable move away from traditional IT environments? In some respects, that transition has already begun. Anyone using the internet regularly has interacted with cloud services, whether through browser-based email, online storage, or web mapping platforms.

Cloud Computing in Everyday Use

Many GIS practitioners already rely on cloud-powered tools without labeling them as such. Examples include:

• Web-based email services
• Online mapping platforms from Google or Microsoft
• Cloud-based virus scanning of web traffic
• Online storage services such as Microsoft SkyDrive, Adobe MyFiles, or Apple’s iDisk

These applications demonstrate how the cloud quietly delivers computing power and storage over the internet, removing the need for local infrastructure.

How Providers Define the Cloud

Major technology vendors describe cloud computing in ways that emphasize scale, flexibility, and efficiency. IBM focuses on simplified delivery of business and consumer services that can scale without practical limits. Amazon, through Amazon Web Services, highlights usage-based pricing, freedom of development choice, and the absence of long-term commitments. Microsoft’s Azure platform emphasizes improved performance-to-cost ratios by running applications in provider-managed data centers.

While phrasing differs, the common thread is clear: computing resources are delivered via the internet, scaled dynamically, and paid for according to actual use.

What Actually Makes Up the Cloud

At a structural level, cloud computing includes several overlapping components:

• Software as a Service (SaaS): Applications accessed on demand through a browser, with vendors handling updates, licensing, and maintenance.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Virtualized servers, storage, and networks delivered as metered utilities, allowing rapid provisioning without capital investment.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): Development environments that let users build and deploy applications without managing hardware or operating systems.
• Dynamic scaling: The ability to expand or contract capacity automatically as demand changes.
• Web-centric technologies: Standards and techniques associated with Web 2.0—such as REST APIs, AJAX, and service-oriented architectures—that enable interactive, loosely coupled applications.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology formalized these ideas by defining cloud computing as a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to shared computing resources.

Why the Cloud Appeals to Users

From an end-user perspective, cloud adoption offers several advantages. Capital expenditures for hardware and software are reduced, since organizations pay only for what they consume. Small companies can scale rapidly and appear far larger than their physical footprint would suggest—an idea often summarized by the notion that “two people in a garage” can compete with established players if the infrastructure scales automatically.

Reliability is another factor. Large cloud providers operate multiple redundant data centers and often offer service-level agreements that exceed what many internal IT teams can guarantee. Some also argue that centralized systems improve security, although privacy and data governance remain ongoing concerns as legal frameworks struggle to keep pace with technological change.

Extending IT and Rethinking GIS Delivery

Cloud computing also allows organizations to extend existing IT capabilities without adding new hardware, retraining staff, or licensing additional software. Services become decoupled from physical infrastructure, shifting costs from capital expenditure to operational expenditure.

For GIS providers, this model is especially powerful. Cloud-based GIS vendors do not need to host every dataset or implement every function internally. Instead, they can draw on external services and public datasets already available in the cloud. For example, Amazon hosts a range of publicly accessible datasets relevant to geospatial analysis, including U.S. census data, economic indicators, and global weather observations.

A Practical GIS Example in the Cloud

One illustrative case is FireLocator.net, a public service that delivers near-real-time wildfire information for the United States and Australia. Rather than building all components from scratch, the platform integrates mapping services, geocoding, satellite imagery, government incident reports, news feeds, and user-generated content from multiple providers.

Satellite-based thermal imagery identifies potential fire hotspots, aerial surveys refine detection, interagency systems contribute perimeter and incident data, and social media adds localized context. The result is a focused application designed to answer a specific question—where fires are occurring—without reinventing foundational GIS technologies.

Why This Model Matters

FireLocator is just one example of how cloud-based GIS shifts emphasis away from infrastructure and toward purpose. Maintaining a single application and a shared set of data sources reduces costs and simplifies updates. Developers can rely on existing cloud services rather than delivering large, monolithic applications that attempt to do everything.

As cloud ecosystems mature, integration will become easier. Virtualization and service-oriented architectures are already enabling loosely coupled systems that scale efficiently and connect organizations into broader networks. For GIS, this evolution opens the door to increasingly sophisticated, specialized applications delivered to large audiences with minimal overhead.

Cloud computing may still be evolving, but its long-term trajectory is difficult to dispute. As organizations seek better ways to use computing capacity and manage costs, cloud-based GIS is positioned to become not the exception, but the norm.