The Cloud

What is the Cloud?

The current joke is that no one really understands the cloud. Is it in the sky? Is it white and fluffy? The cloud, also known as cloud computing has been around since the early 2000’s and is quickly becoming a popular tool for both business and recreation. There is a good chance you’ve used cloud computing already today. Some of the most popular examples include: iCloud, Netflix, Google Drive, DropBox and Yahoo mail.  Without getting too specific, I will explain the basics of the cloud while highlighting the benefits and possible weaknesses.

Cloud computing involves a networked group of large remote servers that allow you online access to computer services. In other words, its internet based computing. This includes access from any device, often including smart phones and can involve multiple users accessing the same data at the same time. It includes both software and services that run on the internet instead of your computer. All of your cloud data is stored in massive data centers all over the world instead of on your hard drive. Often cloud computing is done through licensing, so the user may pay for it as they need it. This makes it more of a service than the classic way of purchasing software.

Cloud computing has been divided into three categories or service models: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) . These differ depending on what types of software or service you need. The service provider can offer to manage anything from servers, networking, web hosting, and storage to applications. The goal is to choose which service model best fits you or your business.

Cloud computing has become popular for a variety of reasons. The first reason is cost. Up front costs are much cheaper because you are not buying an expensive software package and installing it on your computer. Instead you may be buying some sort of license and paying as you need the service. Software is no longer an asset you depreciate on your books, but rather a service. Cloud computing lessens the need for in house IT expertise. Because it can be accessed from anywhere there is no need to have someone in house that can fix it. Maintenance or adjustments can be done from multiple locations and by more than one person at a time. Cloud computing saves local storage space. Because everything is stored in a data center somewhere, there is no need to store it on your devices. This method is also greener because of its lack of hardware. The flexibility is a big benefit of cloud computing. Everything is available on almost any device, many people can work on the same set of data at once (for example google drive), and data will sync between your different devices without any effort on your part. For example you can start watching a show on Netflix at home and when you log on later that day on your phone, it will start you right where you left off.

One of the only downsides is that cloud computing requires you to trust someone else with your data. This requires a huge amount of trust in your cloud computing service provider that they will keep your data save and confidential. There have been a few instances where information was compromised because of cloud computing, but for the most part, providers work extremely hard to maintain the integrity and safety of your data.

Overall cloud computing, though confusing to understand, can be very advantageous for you or your business. It can save you money, storage space and time. So if all of this sounds good, and you can find a service provider you trust, it may be time to switch on over to cloud computing.

Jessa