CLOUD COMPUTING – PRO ET CONTRA

Cloud computing is an area of computing where IT services (eg. hardware resources, software, databases, documents, images, videos, services, informations...) are delivered to consumers via the Internet. The basic idea of cloud computing consists in the fact that in the future information technology (IT) will be treated as a service and will be contracted with a provider such as of telephone, electricity or gas. Users claim that cloud computing allows companies to avoid upfront infrastructure costs, and focus on projects that differentiate their businesses instead of infrastructure. Proponents also claim that cloud computing allows enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with improved manageability and less maintenance, and enables IT to more rapidly adjust resources to meet fluctuating and unpredictable business demand. By applying the technological platforms of Cloud computing, operating systems can be more innovative, capital and operating costs are lowered, and the need for human resources is reduced, the use of IT resources is cheaper, and all with the aim of achieving revenue more quickly, increasing efficiency and flexibility in relation to its competitors. Gmail, YouTube, Yahoo, Hotmail, SkyDrive, Google Apps, Amazon, Windows Live, DropBox are just several examples how the cloud computing is used in everyday business. Basic adventages are : pay per-use, it is not necessary to operate the system, all in one place. However, there are some disadvantages, and the main are: data security, privacy, and depending on the service provider. In this paper we will consider the state of computing in the clouds in Serbia Keywords: IT as a service, advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing, ERP, Serbia JEL Klasifikacije: D80, I21