Cloud Computing: How to really use it

I have a fear that using cloud computing isn’t really going to take off in higher ed the way I had hoped.  I do think that Amazon’s Reserved Instances will help colleges see that it is a more affordable option.  However the problem right now is that we don’t know how much money we will have next year, let alone the year after.  So the question is, should I really be signing myself up for a service that requires me to pay on a monthly basis?  I’ve actually contacted Amazon to see if you can pay via an Amazon.com gift card or the like.  Since I know how much money I have right now, perhaps if I put that on a gift card, it’ll last me for a few years.  I’ll update if I get a response.

Also its hard to convince people that I really am saving money by using Amazon Web Services.  The problem is that the electricity, cooling, server, support, all come out of different budgets.  So if you add it all up its a lot more expensive to have a real live server than a virtual one.  But the people that pay the electricity bill aren’t going to send me the money that I’m saving them.

So what can I do?  Well here at Wheaton we’ve set up NComputing.  Essentially there is a server that the computers connect to.  You install whatever productivity software you want (and your licenses allow).  And then users sit down, log in to the teeny tiny square box you see off to the left, and bam! instant computer.

This allows an IT department to set up computers for a fraction of the cost of setting up a “real” one.  Our Director of Technical Support sent out an email letting us now we’re saving roughly $18,000 dollars by implementing these 10 boxes rather than 10 traditional computers.  That’ll pay for my Amazon Reserved Instance for at least 5 (if not more) years (don’t forget Amazon charges you for get and put requests as well as file uploading).

So if you’re looking for a way to get a bit cloudy without diving head long into utility computing, try virtualizing your desktop computers.  It provides you with the ability to save actual real live money out of your own budget, and has the added benefit of reducing electricity on campus (and maybe you can convince the guy that pays the electric bill that you should get more money from his budget).