In this chapter, we will learn about what cloud actually is, what services are available, what benefits are delivered, and the concerns and barriers for adoption.
We will focus on the benefits and barriers of hybrid cloud and provide a high-level overview of cloud computing.
We will then dive into the features and technologies of Microsoft System Center, Windows Server, and Microsoft Azure in the following chapters.
Here are some of the topics that will be discussed in this chapter:
How electricity became a utility and how cloud could evolve
The essential characteristics of cloud
Service delivery models
Benefits of cloud and barriers for adoption
An introduction to Microsoft Cloud OS