In recent years the term “The Cloud” has become increasingly popular, yet many people are left wondering what it actually is. We know our pictures on our phone get backed up to it, and probably other stuff as well. But what is this intangible thing that we put so much trust in?
Simply put the cloud refers to servers accessed via the internet and the software and services that run on them.
We won’t delve into the platforms yet but there are various service models that perform different functions, which we will dig into in a later post. However, we will define the different deployments.
Public: ran by an external vendor which may have servers in one or multiple data locations. Usually has multiple organizations on it.
Private: dedicated to one organization
Hybrid: combines public and private methods.
Multi-Cloud: utilizes multiple public clouds
The cloud is a very complex ecosystem barely scraping the surface in explanation here, but what is most important is what the cloud can do for you.
Benefits (both individual and business users)
- Automatic Software Updates and Integration
- Efficiency and cost reduction – not having to purchase and maintain expensive equipment is invaluable
- Data Security – nearly every cloud platform has data security in place with the ability to fortify further
- Scalability – easy to accommodate all sizes and needs of business as well as adapt to the ebb and flow of some business needs without massive startup costs
- Collaboration – both local and remote teams and individuals can utilize this to jointly work on projects more efficiently
- Storage – Extend your local storage, and not only that, but you have unlimited storage abilities
- Data Backup – Saving and being able to restore your data is crucial, data loss is a monumental issue when it arises and the cloud can circumvent it
- Using Web Apps – access any of your web-based applications from anywhere
Cloud usage has increased immensely over the last few years and you can see why. Many benefits, low cost, and flexibility. Read more on cloud & deployment models here
