You've undoubtedly heard the latest IT buzz-word -- Cloud Computing -- but may not be entirely certain of what the term means.

In a nutshell, cloud computing involves putting some or all of your company's applications and data in a cloud vendor's network operations center and accessing them from the vendor's servers over the Internet (aka "the cloud") rather than your own on-premise server.

SalesForce.com is probably the best-known cloud vendor. It allows companies to use its Customer Relationship Management software with a web browser and Internet connection for a monthly fee.

You could also use GoogleApps to create and access word processing and spreadsheet documents over the Internet rather than purchasing Microsoft Office for the computers on your network (Microsoft will launch a similar cloud program, Microsoft Office 365, for its Office suite on June 28, 2011, for as little as $6 per user per month).

Or, you might use QuickBooks Online, which allows you to use QuickBooks and your company file on the QuickBooks servers over the Internet rather than installing QuickBooks on your computer or network.

Many line-of-business application developers (software designed specifically for your industry) now offer cloud services, as well, allowing you to use their servers to store your application and data rather than setting up the application on your own servers.

Basic Advantages:

Cloud computing offers the potential to save your company money, at least up front.

Rather than purchasing server hardware and software licenses, you pay a monthly subscription to the cloud vendor. In return, you receive the vendor's services, which could include everything from applications to data, including the software upgrades.

You might also save time and money on IT maintenance as you won't have to maintain server and network hardware, unless you choose a hybrid approach of cloud and on-premise technologies.

You will also be able to access your data anywhere you have a PC and high-speed Internet.

Basic Disadvantages:

In cloud computing, unlike having the data on your own servers, your data is stored out of your sight. You never know exactly who has access to your data because you don't know the cloud vendor's employees and the cloud vendor could be using third-party vendors themselves to provide certain services such as redundancy or data backup.

Because this is all performed over the Internet, your daily operations will be subject to the vagaries of the Internet -- downtime (especially if you're a Mediacom customer) and slow performance. If the Internet is down, either at your business or the cloud vendor's site, you will lose access to your data until it comes back up. If your cloud vendor's network goes down, you again lose access to your data.

So, should you consider cloud computing for your company? Yes, you should consider it. Whether you should move to the cloud can only be determined by your analysis of your company's specific needs.

Next month, we'll delve into what you should consider and what questions you should ask of potential cloud vendors in your analysis of moving your company to the cloud.

In the meantime, for assistance in developing a cloud strategy, you can contact Eric Magill of FlexITechs at 302-537-4198.