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Bittle, trophy finalist HEC
Bittle is one of six finalists of HEC Mercure Management trophy.
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Cloud Computing, SaaS, IaaS, PaaS...
The term ‘Cloud Computing’ refers to a collection of servers and computers distributed throughout the world and linked to each other via a network such as the internet. This ‘cloud’ of servers enables applications to be ‘virtualised’ and as such these applications no longer require installation on the user’s workstation. Instead, they are accessed online using a web browser.Definition
The concept of Cloud Computing is similar to the distribution of electrical energy. Large computing firms (Google, IBM, Microsoft, SalesForce, etc) make their data storage and processing power available to customers and businesses.
This type of model allows businesses to avoid running their own systems and instead pay for storage and processing power according to their actual consumption levels. The flexibility of this model enables them to handle higher load levels more easily.
Cloud Computing itself covers several concepts, several ‘layers’ which as a whole form the entire model:
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
This is the hardware infrastructure, hired on demand and including storage, virtual machines, the operating system, etc.
PaaS (Platform as a Service)
This is the software platform, hired on demand and including the operating platform and application services. PaaS brings together the developer and infrastructure sides of the Cloud Computing system.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
This is the application side of the system. Applications are accessible via the internet and offered in the form of a subscription service with user fees. This is the part of Cloud Computing that is visible to the final user, who does not need to install the application on their computer but simply accesses their account online, in a completely secure environment.
Choosing Bittle
Bittle operates on the SaaS layer mentioned above. In order to offer the best possible quality of service, bittle also relies on several other people who are world leaders in Cloud Computing :
Google (App Engine) for the PaaS layer
The Google App Engine development platform offers a multitude of services and relies on the Java language to create very high performing applications. Google App Engine has a large processing capacity, very good uptime reliability, and is very good at handling drops in services when they occur. One of its great strengths is its integration with Google Apps, and the ability to easily insert ‘widgets’ (interfaces) into applications.
Security is also a strongpoint, whether for data transfer operations, data storage or the authentification of different SaaS applications which can be delegated to the business’ directory system.
Finally, Google App Engine makes it easy to replicate data, therefore allowing work to be continued offline.
Google, IBM and Amazon for the IaaS layer.
From an infrastructure perspective, bittle relies on IBM and Amazon to store data. They offer an undisputed level of security and redundancy across several data centres.
Google guarantees an environment with a high level of uptime reliability (99.9%) for SaaS applications, as well as excellent bandwidth capacities for reduced response times.
Google guarantees an environment with a high level of uptime reliability (99.9%) for SaaS applications, as well as excellent bandwidth capacities for reduced response times.