"Cloud" is a term that has been over-loaded. "Cloud" is just an abstract term that refers to some computer-y things computing things. Often, "Cloud" implies a service provided by a large company like Amazon, Google, or Microsoft - companies with networks so large that they feel ubiquitous.

As an abstraction, "Cloud" allows us both as Users and Developers to treat aspects of the Cloud like a commodity. Just plugin S3 to store files in the cloud, just as easy as you would a local filesystem. Modularity.

So, companies, large and small, looking to learn about and leverage cloud resources and tools to advantage have varying level of technical sophistication. Some companies are looking to virtualize thousands of hardware machines into a public cloud - or maybe a privatized portion of a public cloud - or maybe even roll their own PaaS (platform as a service).

But, like any journey. It must begin with a step. And for companies just getting started, with cloud, it can start like this: