You prolly guess the cloud refers to something internet based, to put it simply cloud services is any service that you access over the Internet where your data is stored on a server somewhere connected to the Internet. If you use Hotmail or Gmail you are basically using a cloud service for your email. If your home computer crashes you wont loose any of your emails because they are on the cloud not on your local PC.
Lets look at some of the other benefits to using Cloud or Internet based applications or services with this example. Quickbooks is a popular accounting program and they released a cloud version many years ago , you upload your data to there servers and then you use your accounting application from a web browser instead of a program window on your computer. Since your using a simple web browser to access your accounting service you can log on at your office and then work from home and log on using your home PC. The software does not need to be loaded on every PC you want to use. Your data would also be backed up by the company offering you the service. Another benefit is that you wouldn't have to download any updates or tax tables , companies that offer cloud based accounting applications are constantly upgrading and tweeking things in the back ground. The need for yearly software upgrades or quarterly tax updates are gone. Scalability is also much easier with cloud based apps , you need one user setup , they can do that in a day , you need twenty more users, ready tomorrow.The beauty of the cloud is you pay for what you need , it could be one user or one hundred users.
So what are the drawbacks of using cloud services? There are not a lot of drawbacks to using the cloud. Cloud services are designed to make things better not worse. One drawback to using the cloud to store large amounts of data (like for your companies backup) is that it can take a long time to download all the data. That is why I would suggest having a local and also cloud backup. One other drawback of the cloud is that you or your company is really at the mercy of the company providing the cloud service. If there servers go down you have to wait for them to make the necessary repairs or changes to get backup and running. Researching cloud services thoroughly before switching a business critical service to is a must!
The cloud is here to stay , so you might as well get your feet wet. I would suggest using some free cloud services to get started , Google docs is a great place to start (www.google.com\docs). I also personally use Evernote (www.evernote.com) everyday, it is a free service to store notes , pictures , documents , web pages and sound clips. I even used it to write this article !
Aaron Weir
Leadwave Technologies Inc.
www.leadwave.ca
(519)704-1463
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