Accessing files from the cloud is becoming more and more of a reality for most people in the business. When I first heard cloud computing a few years ago, I immediately thought that my files were being stored in the atmosphere in a nice, big fluffy cloud somewhere over the Caribbean.
Cloud computing is misleading in the way it is named. It really just refers to a place on the internet that stores your files/information without having to save the files to your hard drive. A series of servers (not the clouds or earth’s atmosphere) are storing your information so that you can access your information anywhere, anytime, with your username and password.
Services like:
- Dropbox
- Salesforce
- Flickr
In my job, I save all of my files to a secure area in Dropbox. I never use my hard drive. The great thing about this is you can access the files from any device at any time.
The five characteristics of cloud computing:
- On-Demand Service
- Accessible from any device
- Resource Pooling – multiple computers in the cloud work together to process multiple requests from a variety of users at any given time
- Rapid Scalability – if one computer on the cloud is overloaded with requests, other computers can come in and pick up the slack
- Increased Measurement – now that software can be delivered to users on the web, it’s easier for software providers to measure user activity and usage. Providing greater insight into improving and making changes to software based on user needs.
In an article posted earlier today on Forbes.com, most businesses will be giving the cloud a lot of attention and $$$ this year. View more