Cloud computing applications often need to have a 99.999% uptime as customers use them directly over the Internet, and there is little chance of solving problems from a remote location (McAfee, 2011). As a result, databases used in cloud computing must have a very high level of reliability and be capable of managing small errors that would cause other databases to stop working or need to be rebooted. The requirement from cloud computing users for databases to be able to manage these higher levels of reliability is leading to a completely different level of research and development today (Limbasan, Rusu, 2011). Taking into account all of these factors it is clear that cloud computing is having a very disruptive effect on database research, development and use today. Cloud computing is forcing many enterprise software vendors who create databases to focus more on how their applications can be used as more than just an application. Today databases need to increasingly be used as a platform for development. Assessing the Impact of Cloud Computing on Database Technologies

The rapid level of innovation and new product development by database software vendors to make their software applications more usable in cloud computing is also forcing a major change in how businesses uses these technologies as well. Larger businesses, often called enterprises, are using cloud computing databases to create their own internal or private cloud computing networks (Upson, 2011). This is having a major disruptive effect on how enterprises buy and pay for databases under maintenance contract agreements with the largest software companies including IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and others (McAfee, 2011). Private cloud computing systems drastically reduce the cost of owning databases, and using a concept of virtualization, or the spare processing power in their servers, companies are able to save literally millions of dollars in costs (Limbasan, Rusu, 2011). The reduction in costs is very significant as a result. The benefits include much greater control over the administration of these private cloud sites suing databases that are much easier to maintain and secure, while also gaining experience in managing public clouds, or databases that their customers and members of their supply chain will use (McAfee, 2011).

IT Infrastructure Changes

There is also a reduction in costs for integrating databases and networks together as well. In addition to these changes, there is a major change going on in how companies manage their overall programming work and projects, making them much more focused on user needs instead of maintaining older databases. All of these changes are forcing an entirely new set of skills on businesses to learn and use.
Skills Required

The basic skills required for any business to begin using databases for cloud computing include expertise with VMWare and virtualization technologies (Upson, 2011). Knowedlge of how Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) all work together, and expertise in XML programming (Chisholm, 2009). Additional skills include SQL programming, and the ability to rebuild entire servers and systems from the operating system level up.

Glossary

The following are key terms and concepts regarding the use of databases for cloud computing:

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) -- An approach to delivering applications based on a web-based architecture, allowing many different users to interact with and use an application hosted on a server and database over the Internet (Upson, 2011).

Virtualization - The series of technologies that cloud computing platform providers including Amazon Web Services provide to create a virtual server so companies can host their applications there. Virtualization creates a server through software, allowing customers to load and use their applications there (Upson, 2011).

XML -- The acronym used to define Extensible Markup Language (XML), this is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form.

Sources

Malcolm Chisholm. (2009). The Dawn of Big Data: Are we on the cusp of a new paradigm that goes beyond what we can do with traditional data stores?. Information Management, 19(8), 45.

Limbasan, A., & Rusu, L.. (2011). Implementing SaaS Solution for CRM. Informatica Economica, 15(2), 175-183.

Andrew McAfee. (2011, November). What Every CEO Needs to Know About…