As IT Service Specialists, we are not immune to the fast pace of changing technology. Cloud Computing seems to be the next logical step for computers, as the demand for access to your files from any location, grows. But this isn't the only reason small businesses are becoming excited about cloud computing. Here, we take a look at the 4 major advantages of utilizing the cloud.
1) Disaster recovery support
Most of us are pretty guilty when it comes to backing up our files to a second location in case the worse should happen, with cloud computing the responsibility is with the clouds owner, and with big companies like Google taking care of your storage, you can rest assured they took the time and money to make sure its backed up properly.
2) File Access from anywhere
Did you remember to bring that crucial file? If it was backed up to the cloud it wouldn’t have been a problem, you would have had access to it from anywhere. Lots of times we are missing that one file we need either because we forgot it or simple because we don’t have enough room on our flash drive to keep it with us at all times, so backing it up to the cloud is a way to secure access to it from any place at any time. Companies like dropbox and Livemesh are great for accessing files from anywhere from the cloud.
3) Settings and Applications
I hate having to use someone else’s computer, their settings are never the way I like them and the app/program I need is never installed on their computer, under a more advanced cloud setup we would be able to have access to any of our applications. Chrome as a browser even offers you to log in to have access to your bookmarks or extensions from another computer.
4) No need for major upgrades
As Cloud Computing becomes more advanced we might see something close to ChromeOS, Google’s cloud operating system, become more prevalent. This would be an easy upgrade scheme for users as almost all the heavy lifting is done by the servers, with the finished product being sent to us over the internet. The goal being to use complex programs like Photoshop or play detailed games but do it from a computer who's hardware only costs as much as a Netbook.
As cloud computing starts to really take off its advantages are clear and many programmers are bracing for the future by making their software accessible from the cloud. To get an idea of how far cloud computing has come all you have to do is take a look at a few companies who are placing their bets for cloud computing as the future. Dropbox offers automatic cloud syncing of storage, OnLive offers streaming of games to computer, and of course Google is pushing hard for the cloud with ChromeOS, Google Docs and almost any other of their services that they offer as an exclusive online application.