Skip to main content
Visit Remote Work Tools & Guidelines and Student Remote IT Support for details on working remotely under the University's Coronavirus (COVID-19) recommendations
Penn Information Systems & Computing Systems Home

Search form

  • Find my LSP
  • Penn
System Status
  • Get Started
    • IT Staff
    • Faculty
    • Staff
    • Students
    • Alumni & Guests
    • ISC Staff
  • Services
    • — Services A to Z —
    • Accounts, Access & Security
      • Access Management Services
      • Active Directory
      • Identity Management Services
      • Information Security Services
    • Applications & Data Analytics
      • Application Development & Delivery
      • Data Analytics
        • Data Analytics at Penn
      • Integration Development & Delivery
    • Backup, Storage & Platforms
      • BackItUp
      • Backup for Desktop & Laptop
      • Cloud Solutions
      • Data Center Services
      • Database & Middleware Services
      • Endpoint Management
      • Recovery Services
      • Storage
      • Virtual Desktop
      • Virtual Server Hosting
    • Community, Support & Learning
      • Classroom Technology Services
      • Desktop Engineering
      • IT Community Events
      • Knowledge Link
      • LinkedIn Learning
      • Provider Support Services
      • Tech Center
    • Consulting & Professional Services
      • Brokered Products
      • HireIT
      • Systems Support & Consulting
      • Technology Forecasting
    • Email, Calendaring & Collaboration
      • Classlists
      • Penn Email Routing
      • Penn+Box
      • PennNet Mailing Lists
      • PennO365
      • PennZoom
      • SMTP-Relay
      • Secure Share
    • Networks & Connectivity
      • Firewall Services
      • Network Design & Installation
      • Network Names & Numbers
      • PennNet
        • MAGPI (Penn's Internet2 Regional Optical Network)
      • PennNet Ethernet Ports
      • Wireless at Penn
    • Phone, TV & Video
      • Broadcasting Studio
      • Contact Center
      • Live Video Streaming
      • Penn Video Network
      • PennFlex Phone
      • PennNet Phone
      • Traditional Telephony
      • Video Content Management
      • Video Production
        • Producing Video Content
    • Web Hosting
      • Web Services
    • — Service Rates —
    • — Service Level Agreements —
  • Security
    • Office of Information Security
    • Security Services
    • Special Projects
    • Policies & Procedures
    • Training & Awareness
  • Collaborations
    • Engaging Penn’s IT Community
    • Identity & Access Management
    • Cloud First
    • Next Generation Unified Communications
    • IT Advisory Groups
      • Common Solutions
      • IT Roundtable
      • Network Policy Committee
      • Penn Technology Investment Committee
        • About PTIC
    • Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
      • Audio-Visual (AV-SIG)
      • Cloud Computing (Cloud-SIG)
      • Data Visualization (DataViz-SIG)
      • Developer SIG (Dev-SIG)
      • High-Performance Computing (HPC-SIG)
      • Instructional Technology SIG
      • Linux SIG
      • Macintosh Networking Group (MacNet)
      • Mobile Technologies (Mobile-SIG)
      • O365 Special Interest Group
      • PC Networking Group (PC-Net)
      • Project Partners SIG
      • Security SIG
      • Social Media SIG
      • Splunk Special Interest Group
      • Super User Group (SUG)
      • Web SIG
    • Technology Services Strategy Review Board
  • News
  • Events
  • About
    • Overview
    • Leadership & Groups
    • Purpose & Values
    • Strategic Goals
    • Recognition
    • Tech Jobs @ Penn
    • Contact Us
  • Hot Topics
  • Get Help
    • Support Center
    • Contact ISC Client Care
    • Rates for All Services

You are here

Home » Why Cloud?
College Hall

Why Cloud?

Cloud computing enables ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable resources (networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics: on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service. There are currently three widely recognized service models:

  • Software as a Service (SaaS) – A business application created and hosted in a multi-tenant model paid for on a subscription basis
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) – Building on services delivered via IaaS (described below), a set of middleware, software development, and deployment tools provided to enable consistent development for a cloud environment
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – Delivery of services such as hardware, storage, networking, data center space, and utility software elements on an on-demand basis

Cloud Advantages

Embracing cloud computing offers Penn the opportunity to achieve significant improvements in functionality, especially as related to future cost avoidance and to transform our IT services and operations in a significant way. The major benefits of cloud computing include:

  • Responsiveness to Demand: Cloud vendors offer us virtually unlimited capacity. We can immediately provision resources, such as servers, in extremely large quantities, use those resources for as long as necessary, and immediately de-provision them when they are no longer necessary. This model eliminates the need for over-provisioning resources to meet peaks or unknown future demands.
  • Efficiency: Demand for IT services will continue increasing at an ever-faster pace, and we need to find a way to meet demand with relatively flat funding and headcount. Cloud vendors offer efficient economies of scale for commodity services, so our staff can be reskilled and redeployed to focus on higher value, and potentially more interesting, work.
  • Resilience: The infrastructure that powers cloud services is highly durable and can be spread across multiple geographic locations. This alleviates concerns related to the availability and disaster recovery of on-campus data centers.
  • Cost: The “pay as you go” model of cloud computing allows us to pay for only those services that we actually consume and to purchase them on demand. This model is well aligned to Responsibility Center Management (RCM) philosophy.
  • Innovation: By utilizing more cloud services, staff will be able to focus on efforts that are central to advancing Penn’s mission in academics, research, healthcare, and community.

ISC's Cloud First Principles

  • Choose simplicity, speed, and iterative improvement over upfront completeness and strict controls.
  • Continuously iterate and re-evaluate decisions; nothing is beyond question.
  • Be mindful of increasing technical debt.
  • Choose automated solutions over manual ones, but respect the implications to manual process owners.
  • Use tools and technologies “off the shelf” in secure ways and as the provider intended.

Share:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Print
Cloud Home
Updates & Presentations
  • Archive
Cloud Resources
  • Overview of Resources
  • Planning & Strategies
  • Technical Resources
  • Self-Directed Learning
  • Peer Institutions
  • Reference
Cloud at Penn
  • Why Cloud?
Application Design & Tools
  • Cloud Development Architecture Roadmap
  • Cloud AD Categories
  • Cloud AD Tools & Technologies
Architecture & Infrastructure
  • Cloud Infrastructure Overview
  • Cloud Infrastructure Tools
  • Cloud Providers
  • Cloud Automation Pipeline
  • Computing Policies
  • Tech Jobs @ Penn
System Status

© 2021 THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA — 3401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 — Report accessibility issues and get help — For ISC Staff