Section: Research Program

Cloud Data Management

Cloud computing encompasses on demand, reliable services provided over the Internet (typically represented as a cloud) with easy access to virtually infinite computing, storage and networking resources. Through very simple Web interfaces and at small incremental cost, users can outsource complex tasks, such as data storage, system administration, or application deployment, to very large data centers operated by cloud providers. However, cloud computing has some drawbacks and not all applications are good candidates for being “cloudified”. The major concern is w.r.t. data security and privacy, and trust in the provider (which may use no so trustful providers to operate). One earlier criticism of cloud computing was that customers get locked in proprietary clouds. It is true that most clouds are proprietary and there are no standards for cloud interoperability.

There is much more variety in cloud data than in scientific data since there are many different kinds of customers (individuals, samll companies, large corporations, etc.). However, we can identify common features. Cloud data can be very large, unstructured (e.g. text-based) or semi-structured, and typically append-only (with rare updates). And cloud users and application developers may be in high numbers, but not DBMS experts.