Cloud Computing

What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is one of the IT industry’s newest buzzwords.  If you’re anything like me, you’re wondering what on earth it actually means, especially when authors like Nicholas Carr proclaim it the way of the future.  I was so curious that I went out and did some research so I could figure out this new phenomenon for myself.

Splitting up the two words makes this term easier to understand.  The cloud is generally understood to be the internet, and in short cloud computing means using the internet for all of your computer needs.  Rather than having disc storage, software, and hardware of your own, you store all of your information on the internet.  If you use a service like Hotmail or Google Mail (Gmail in the States), you’re already doing it.  That’s because Google and Microsoft’s email services store all of your files for you on their servers.  In fact, Google is one of the biggest players in the game, as they have several software suites that are free for use on the internet, like Google Docs or Google Calendar.

These services are provided for free, but many companies want to make money off cloud computing by extending into businesses.  Unsurprisingly, Microsoft is one of them, particularly because cloud computing will take away much of the proprietary benefit they gain from their many pre-installed Windows programs and operating system.  Amazon is another provider; they already allow users to set up stores and sell items via their own websites without any additional need for storage, and they plan to expand into other areas of the market as well.

As a business model, users typically rent software and hardware facilities that they previously had to buy.  Start-ups are already taking advantage of cloud computing because it significantly lowers their initial costs; no longer do they have to buy expensive hardware and software for each employee.  It lowers the barrier for entry, though it may not be a cost-effective service for the long run.  Consider it like renting an apartment before you save up the money for a down payment on a house.

Similarly, the cloud model doesn’t make sense for larger companies who already own the necessary hardware and software.  It would just be too expensive.  In the future, however, some technology enthusiast are already envisioning cloud computing as a common utility like electricity or gas, completely eliminating the need to run servers or potentially even individual computers on your own.  To me, however, this seems to be a number of years off.

How will users benefit from cloud computing when it does fully arrive?  Well, for one thing, everyone would be able to access any of their files at any location.  If you do some work from home, you’ll no longer need a laptop or even a flash drive because everything you could access at home will also be available to you at work.  Like webmail services, your information will automatically sync because it’s all stored in the same place.  Perhaps information will also be cheaper, but no one quite knows where this revolution is headed – yet.

About the Author

Meghan Burton is a professional copywriter, writing on behalf of <a href=”http://www.octaviais.co.uk/”>Octavia IT services</a>.

What Does Cloud Computing Mean?

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