taining and upgrading applications were all motivations for moving applications to the cloud. In fact, smaller companies of fewer than 200 or 300 employees may have only a single server to support because most of their applications are located in the cloud. Using a service such as Amazon Web Services or Google Apps (offered by Amazon and Google, respectively) for computing and archiving data saves start-up costs with fewer financial risks. If the business grows, it won't outgrow the hardware that it purchased earlier. Conversely, if the business fails or slows down dramatically, it doesn't have an investment in hardware and software with little resale value or one that might be too sophisticated for its changing needs. It is also useful in supporting IT in acquired companies and gearing up for spikes in usage. www.TechnicalPDF.com The cloud is additionally a way for concerns, particularly start-ups, to develop and test applications before making them available to staff or customers. The following is an example of how a new company used cloud computing to test the viability of their planned applications. The start-up rented 50 client computers and one server with four application programs and one database machine from Amazon for 0.50c an hour to test their application without having to invest in hardware. Without the ability to test applications on Amazon, their start-up costs would have been prohibitive because they would have had to lease 50 computers plus 1 for a database. Large enterprises were initially interested in cloud computing because there was a perception that it would be less costly than hiring additional staff as well as purchasing and supporting hardware and software for new applications. With cloud computing there is no capital investment. Companies pay usage per person, in a similar manner to renting a car. Cost savings are not always the main advantage or impetus for using cloud computing. While capital and staff expense are lower with cloud computing, monthly usage costs can balance out these s