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Cloud Computing 云端运算

详细资料: 创建于 2009年10月30日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2012年3月20日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：223

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Are you looking for some space online? The sky is the limit! 想在网络上遨游吗？你大可天马行空、毫无限制喔！

The prospects for “cloud computing” now seem a little less …. cloudy. Once a term confined to tech geeks and derided by critics as a marketing ploy, cloud computing today is arguably the hottest trend sweeping the information technology industry sector.

如今「云端运算」可说是拨云见日，前景看好，因为这个过去只有技客（译注：或译电脑玩家）才懂的名词，虽然以往常被批评者讥为营销伎俩，如今却可说是席卷信息科技业界的一股热潮。

“It’s a real business that has grown in stature,” said Dan Grigsby, a prominent Minnesota software entrepreneur.

「云端运算可说是货真价实的生意，而且重要性愈来愈高，」明尼苏达州著名的软件企业家丹．葛里斯比如此表示。

The company enStratus Networks (enStratus is derived from Latin words for “in the clouds”) was recently selected to present at the Under the Radar Conference, a prominent Silicon Valley event for tech start-ups. The Minneapolis-based company designs security applications for cloud computing.

「云中网络公司」（英文原名enStratus是拉丁文的「在云中」的意思）最近获选在「不引人注目会议」（译注：under the radar指不引人注目的、私下低调进行的、没有人注意到的）上发表感言，该会议是硅谷新创企业界的大事。这家明尼苏达州的公司专门设计云端运算的安全应用程序。

But what is it? 何为云端运算？

Cloud computing refers to a distribution-and-pricing model in which companies can purchase services such as software, bandwidth, server space and web applications over the Internet on an on-demand basis. For example, a retailer needing a little extra computing power during holiday shopping season can rent out additional server space from “clouds” like Amazon Web Services for that period.

云端运算是指一种配销和计价的服务模式，让企业可以自行选择购买像是软件、带宽、服务器功能和网络应用程序等透过网络可取得的服务。举例来说，某家零售商如果在节日购物旺季需要额外的运算功能，就可以在这段期间向如「亚马逊网络服务」等「云」端来租用额外的服务器效能。

The economic benefits are huge, experts say. By paying only for what you need when you need it, start-ups can quickly and cheaply scale up their business. And corporation don’t need to purchase heavy-duty infrastructure to manage their huge data flows.

专家指出，云端运算的经济效益不容小觑。新创公司只在有需要的特定时段才付钱买这种服务，就能快速又节省成本地拓展业务，而且企业也不需要花钱买重型耐用的基础设施，就能妥善处理庞大的数据流。

“One of the important benefits [of cloud computing] is that the resources scale up and down in a flexible manner,” said Michael Gorman, managing director of Split Rock Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Minnesota. “If a company has major peaks and valleys in their usage, they are able to accommodate the peaks without paying for full, peak capacity all the time. They only pay for what they use, and they get the benefit of never being out of capacity. For emerging companies, this can substantially reduce the costs associated with starting and running their business.”

「云端运算的一大好处就是，资源的运用可以很有弹性地可大可小，」麦可．葛曼指出，他是明尼苏达州草创创投公司「裂石公司」总经理，「如果一家公司的业务有高峰期和低谷期的话，就可以在高峰期购买云端运算的服务，而不需要花大钱以便一年到头享有完整、高峰期的功能，只要为使用的服务付费，同时还有永远不怕资源不够的好处。对新兴企业来说，这就能大幅减少和公司的草创及营运相关的成本。」

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the sky is the limit 没有限制 something that you say which means there is no limit to what something or someone can achieve

prospect [ˋprɑspɛkt] n. 指望；预期；盼望的事物

ploy [plɔɪ] n.【口】计谋；计划

arguably [ˋɑrgjʊəblɪ] adv. 可以认为; 按理说 as can be shown by argument; possibly

present [prɪˋzɛnt] v. 展示；陈述

refer to 意指

on-demand 按需定制的; 随选的

rent out 出租, 租出 grant the services of or the temporary use of, for a fee

scale up 放大; 增加; 提高

heavy-duty [ˋhɛvɪˋdjutɪ] adj. 重型的，经得起损耗的

infrastructure [ˋɪnfrə͵strʌktʃɚ] n. 基础建设; 基础设施 the internal setup of a computer system that supports the processing of information

accommodate [əˋkɑmə͵det] v. 能容纳; 顾及；考虑到

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Growing markets 市场成长可期

Could computing is nothing new. Some firms already sell supersmart software over the Internet that helps companies set prices and manage sales. But such services tended to focus on a specific niche.

云端运算并不是新名词，一些公司老早就透过网络来贩卖能帮企业定价和管理销售的智能型软件，不过，这些服务往往把焦点锁定在特定的利基市场上。

What’s made cloud computing a reality is Amazon.com, the ubiquitous bookseller, experts say. The Seattle-based online retailer’s giant computers allowed big customers to scale up and generate meaningful cost savings.

据专家指出，真正落实云端运算理念的，就是无所不在的「亚马逊」网络书店，这家西雅图网络零售业者的巨型电脑能帮主顾客节省可观的成本，拓充业务。

Today, major Internet companies such as Google, IBM and Microsoft are diving into clouds. IDC, an IT market research firm, estimates global spending on cloud computing services will jump threefold to $42 billion in 2012.

如今，包括「谷歌」、IBM、「微软」等重要网络公司都不约而同投入云端运算。信息科技市场研究公司IDC预估，全球投注在云端运算的支出将在二０一二年增为三倍，达到四百二十亿美元。

Cartner Inc., another prominent research firm, predicts the cloud services market will grow from $46.4 billion today to $150.1 billion in 2013, an annual compound growth rate of 26.5 percent. The boom, Gartner says, will be led by business processing (advertising, e-commerce and payments processing), software-as-a-service and systems infrastructure (storage and backup services).

另一家知名研究公司「嘉特纳」则预估，云端服务的市场将从目前的四百六十四亿美元，在二０一三年扩增到一千五百零一亿美元，复合年成长率达到百分之二十六点五。「嘉特纳」公司指出，这项服务的荣景主要将由商务处理（广告、电子商务和支付处理）、软件即服务，以及系统基础设施（储存和备份服务）等业务所带动。

Technology for everyone 人人皆可享用的科技

Cloud computing also represents a big opportunity for start-ups, investors say. The company calls its core technology “key management,” software that protects access to a company’s data within a cloud.

投资界人士指出，对新创公司来说，云端运算也意味着一大商机。「云中网络公司」称其核心科技为「关键管理」，亦即对进入「云」中的公司数据加以防护的软件。

The start-up’s software can also authorize employees to access a cloud with one user ID but only see information relevant to their jobs. The start-up also has technology that monitors a cloud’s reliability. For instance, if one Amazon server fails, enStratus will automatically migrate a company’s data to another Amazon server.

这家新创公司的软件还可授权让员工用一个使用者识别来进入某朵「云」中，但只能看到和自己工作相关的信息。该公司所研发的科技还能监控某朵云的可靠性。举例来说，如果「亚马逊」公司有一台服务器故障了，「云中网络公司」就会自动把一家公司的信息转送到另一台「亚马逊」服务器上。

George Reese, the cofounder and chief of technology at enStratus, says cloud computing can significantly boost entrepreneurship and innovation by leveling the playing field. “With this economy, getting access to capital is expensive. [But now] everything that used to be a huge capital expense is now an operational expense. Could computing will be able to make scale available to companies with no scale at all.”

「云中网络公司」共同创办人及科技主管乔治．里斯表示，云端运算能提供公平竞争的环境，进而提升企业家精神和创新。「在目前的经济局势下，取得资本代价昂贵，但如今过去曾一度是庞大开支的所有项目，现在全都成了营运费用。云端运算能让原本小得没有规模可言的公司，俨然宛如拥有相当的规模。」

－by Thomas Lee

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