Cloud computing, or as it is usually referred to – the cloud. It’s the delivery of on-demand computing services over the Internet. It allows us to consume a computer resource, instead of having and maintaining the computing infrastructures.
The cloud lets us share the information via the Internet rapidly and effortlessly. No need to store the info on the hard drive and you can access it from wherever and whenever. What’s more, you can edit files simultaneously with other users, making the sharing of the information even more efficient. All the info you have stored on the cloud is available for you to download any time on any device.
It’s a long way from floppy disks and CDs.
Types of cloud computing services vary. Some are designed to suit the needs of individual users who wish to store their photos and videos, while others are tailored primarily for companies.
There is also a difference in price. Usually, as an individual user, you get some amount of storage for free, typically around 5GB, but in case you need more, you’ll have to pay.
Most important benefits of cloud computing for businesses are the lower cost, bigger speed, and higher productivity.
Cloud computing eliminates the expenses of buying and setting up the hardware, electricity needed for power and hiring IT experts for maintaining the infrastructure. There’s a lot to take into account.
When it comes to speed, nothing beats the cloud when it comes to sharing the information. You can provision enormous amounts of computing resources in a matter of minutes.
Cloud computing also means that there is no more need for hardware set up and managing the software, and leaves you more time to focus on more important business goals. Employees can work from home or any other location, which allows for a faster and more efficient exchange of information.
According to Verticomm, cloud gives you more storage as well. In the past, you were limited by the memory of the particular device, USB drive for instance. Now, you have access to a huge amount of storage and don’t need to worry about squeezing all in few Mb on a USB drive.
Setting up of the cloud computing service is done in a couple of minutes. You simply adjust your individual settings – that doesn’t take a lot of effort, and you’re ready to start using the resources and software.
There are also different types of cloud computing to consider. The three types are: public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud.
Public clouds are operated by a third-party cloud service provider. That means that all hardware and software are managed by the provider. You, as a user, may access it via your web browser.
On the other hand, there are private clouds. Those are mainly used by a single business and companies. The cloud is located on the company’s data center, but in some cases, companies decide to hire a third-party service to manage their cloud.
Hybrid cloud, as the name suggests, is a combination of the private and public cloud. Those two types of clouds are bound together, and the data can be shared between them.
