What is "The Cloud" anyway? We keep hearing this term from companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon to name a few, but what is it actually?
Definition of "The Cloud": "... the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local computer."
In August 2012, Wakefield Research conducted a survey for Citrix (a major player in cloud based computing) and found that 54% of respondents claimed to never having used cloud computing, when in fact 95% actually use the cloud everyday whether they know it or not.
Today, "The Cloud" gives instant online access to:
* Email
* Calendars
* Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentations
* Phone calls
* File Backup
* Passwords
* Video and Music
* Education
Writing a literal definition is simple, but understanding what it does for us today and how that's changing quickly can be easily misunderstood and just plain confusing at times.
Let's take each in detail to get a better understanding of this new way of working and interacting.
* Email Some of us may use software that retrieves email, but those email messages simultaneously reside on a group of computers somewhere in the world which belong to the email service provider. For many of us, our email accounts are accessed and managed from our local computer, tablet or smartphone, but are never actually moved to, or sent from our devices.
* Online Calendars Thanks to cloud based calendars, we can manage and share our schedules by giving specific access to anyone we want. Access is simple, secure and free, requiring nothing more than an internet connection and a computer, tablet or smartphone.
* Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentations Individual and collaborative efforts are streamlined with cloud based document management via free online services like Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive.
When more advanced authoring is required, subscription based products like Microsoft Office 36 are a cost effective alternative to updating the Microsoft Office on your computer. Users can create, collaborate and share documents online, without having to send files back and forth using email. Each document will always be up to date without having to think about it. There's even support for document revision tracking.
* Phone Systems VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol telephony significantly reduces landline phone costs and provides a true "office on the go" without sacrificing quality, features or a professional appearance. Regular phone conversations are transmitted securely over the internet using devices such as the Ooma Telo that don't require a computer to operate. All voicemail, call logs and features are stored in the cloud and accessed securely from anywhere in the world via computer, tablet or smartphone.
* File Backup While the debate continues over security and privacy concerns, there's no denying the value in having extra backup in the cloud without fear of theft, fire or accidental loss. It's not enough to have an external drive connected to your computer for backup. You need more. With cloud computing, your files are stored on remote computers with services such as Amazon S3 (the root provider to many of the cloud backup companies). Amazon S3 keeps multiple copies of your files on many computers. Amazon claims that two of their entire data centers (massive buildings with hundreds of computers) could burn to the ground and your data would still be safe.
Regardless of how safe you feel, you still must trust that the company storing your data is keeping it safe from being hacked. Fortunately, simple to use products such as Boxcryptor keep your data safe from the bad guys by encrypting your data before it gets to the cloud and automatically decrypting when you retrieve it. Safe from government scrutiny too? The debate continues...
* Cloud based Password Management A very important cloud based service from companies like LastPass offer secure and convenient access to passwords and private notes stored in the cloud. Your passwords are stored safely on LastPass cloud computers with data encryption that would theoretically take 149 trillion years to break into. No one at LastPass is able to see any of your passwords. Not even the master password.
* Cloud based Video and Music If you have ever watched Netflix or viewed a YouTube video, you have watched cloud based video. It is often referred to as streaming video or streaming audio because it comes down from the cloud as an endless stream rather than in its entirety as it does when someone emails you a video or an audio file as an attachment.The type of content available via cloud streaming is in a constant state of change, redefining the way we watch video and listen to music.
Most recently, new products like Google's Chromecast are shaking up the status quo, using clever tricks to deliver streaming content from the cloud to our living rooms.
With the touch of a single button, the palm-sized, $35 Chromecast uses a built-in slim version of the Google Chrome web browser to simultaneously access the identical video, music or pictures you are accessing on your computer, tablet or smartphone, mirroring playback from the cloud directly to any HDTV with a Chromecast device connected to it.
* Cloud based Learning The cloud enables an education for anyone with access to a computer on the internet. EdX.org is one such example of higher education offering enhanced teaching, learning and research from major universities around the world, such as MIT, Berkley, Harvard, McGill, University of Toronto, etc. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and governed by MIT and Harvard, the XConsortium presents unparalleled educational opportunities online in the cloud, on your schedule, 24/7, for free.
Not just videos, the not for profit consortium also utilizes 3D models and peer to peer social media tools to connect students and educators through their open source, collaborative environment.
These are just a few of the cloud services available today. What's more important than how "Cloud" is defined, is the significant savings that can be realized are a very important path forward for many businesses. As a result you should expect the definition and uses to continue to evolve and enhance our ability to learn, grow business and be entertained.
If you want to know more about the cloud and how it can deliver significant time and cost savings for you, please call or email me.
Douglas Krug, iHelp Innovate Phone: 647-391-4357
Email: doug@ihelpinnovate.com
Website: www.ihelpinnovate.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Doug for sharing very enlightening and useful information :-)
Keep learning, and until next time.
Trudy Van Buskirk
