In my last post, I began dissecting cloud computing into its three primary components: infrastructure last week, platform this week and software as a service next week.

Platform as a service (PaaS) refers to the tools used to build software applications (software programs) in the cloud. Think of it as a cloud-based development environment for building and managing software applications. These custom-built applications are then hosted on infrastructure as a service (IaaS).

http://web2.sys-con.com/node/1112342

Platform as a Service

We were recently Tweeted an inquiry about what exactly cloud computing means.  If you are listening in to tech chatter these days it’s impossible to avoid the flurry of opinions about what the cloud is.

So … we figured we might as well add our two cents and spent a thought provoking morning developing a cloud stack analogy.

http://web2.sys-con.com/node/1072282

Cloud services tend to fit into the category of SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS

My company, WorkXpress, has been delivering platform as a service based solutions successfully for over five years now and have had the opportunity to witness first hand on many occasions a new phenomenon that is likely to change greatly the role of the business analyst in organizations. Recently, I was asked to expand on an article published here about that phenomenon entitled “The People that Cloud Computing Forgot – The Business Process Analyst”.

To summarize, we are witnessing a marked increase in both the importance of and focus on the work of the business analyst that is directly proportional to the depth with which cloud computing services are utilized. What’s more, we are experiencing a shift in the tools and skills that our analysts and those of our customers are required to utilize. We believe this to be more than just theory or prediction, but rather something that we have observed first hand and that will change forever the role and prominence of the business analyst. The forces behind cloud computing can’t really be stopped due to their disruptive value proposition, and as a result we are all simply going to have to change with them.

http://workxpress.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/the-business-analyst-of-tomorrow-and-now-today-it-is-a-software-development-revolution/

“The People that Cloud Computing Forgot – The Business Process Analyst”

WorkXpress, the world’s most functional Platform as a Service (PaaS) without programming, launched EventPro Strategies’ (EPS) new event management software today in record time. The new cloud computing based software created for EPS will be the cornerstone of their business providing a range of capability including talent registration, event creation, event staffing, talent communication, event management, event accounting including online timesheets and reimbursement, and management reporting. This vast functionality is handled using five separate portals including talent, client, staff, accounting, and management. Each portal provides only the needed functionality and access while allowing for use anywhere utilizing multiple browsers and mobile devices.

http://cloudcomputingarchitect.com/2009/08/31/workxpress-provides-customized-software-at-a-fraction-of-the-cost-and-time-of-traditional-solutions.aspx?ref=rss

New Event Management Platform Provides EventPro Strategies With Superior Software to Execute Event Staffing Flawlessly

“Using a 5GL PaaS an entire company can be automated from scratch in just a matter of weeks, but ONLY if there is an effective identification of the desired process, a description of the specific needs of that process and finally an aggressive review and testing of the completed functionality with the actual users.”

http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/node/1076064

Whether it’s business, government, education, or healthcare, the underlying question is, “How do we get from today’s organizational [enterprise] infrastructure (and processes) to that of a Cloud computing business model?”

So … we figured we might as well add our two cents and spent a thought provoking morning developing a cloud stack analogy.

http://web2.sys-con.com/node/1072282

This cloud continuum is also helpful to understand why we see PaaS as an optimal tool for business process application development