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Do you have cloud confusion or cloud confidence?

I am here to talk about the obvious everyone (if not most) has become more dependent on technology over the past six years. We have become used to “tweeting” our feelings, sharing our experiences through countless social media sites, and using nothing but screens to compose everything we want the world to know about us. It only makes sense that technology developers would come up with new concepts on how to make our lives easier via web, and that is exactly what they have done with the idea of “a cloud”.

The first thing I asked myself (and admit it, you probably did too) was the simple question of, “How does this work?”  Cloud computing is a concept that developed back in the 1950's, and since the technology boom in the 1990's, companies have been trying to perfect the software.  The way your computer and devices work is that you save content directly to your computer's hard drive.  With a cloud, you directly save your content on a server , where it is stored and directly synced with your other devices.  This is also software that people can use to share easier and a backup in case any files get lost or devices get stolen.  All in all, the software is a helpful device and couldn't have came into our lives at a better time. About a year ago Apple introduced their version of the cloud called iCloud (how original).  “Your content. On all your devices” is their tagline, and they couldn't have picked a better one to describe what it does.  Essentially, the concept is that you put your content (music, photos, calendars, contacts, documents, etc.) on their server instead of you computer, and it will automatically be on your iPad, iPhone, and iMac.  This was a genius move for Apple, since this software is only compatible with Apple devices.

Now you may ask, “What did the competitors do in response?” Well, it's called competition for a reason, so of course other companies developed something of their own.  Microsoft SkyDrive is the “PC” of cloud computing, with the tagline “Building from the cloud up”.  Unlike the iCloud, this software allows content sharing with not only Windows 7 and 8, but also Mac OS.  Google created Google Drive, which they have already integrated with their other programs like GoogleDocs.  One feature that is quite impressive is the fact that only non-Google Docs files consume allotted space. Now, you can have as many Google Docs files, or convert and upload your Microsoft Office and iWork files without taking up a single MB.  Fascinating, isn't it?

Like everything that has a lot of pros, the cloud does have its cons.

Since files will be on another companies's server besides their own personal computer, security is one of the main concerns people have when using a cloud.  According to a new study commissioned by PEER 1 Network Enterprises, 23% of people surveyed said they didn't want to use a cloud because of the lack of security perceived by it (not even by trying it, but perceiving it).  This shows that people are skeptical with this technology, and that there are some big issues companies should address with their consumers.

In our opinion, we believe the cloud brings nothing but positive attributes to companies, people, and the web.  People use some sort of a cloud everyday without even realizing it.  Facebook, Netflix, and Gmail are all examples of clouds, and according to various technology blogs, most agree that this is the future of content sharing.  Pretty soon companies will be able to create their own cloud for their own business, and who knows what else they will be able to do with this concept.  Cloud computing proves that the sky isn't the limit for clouds anymore.

Our question to you is: What kind of cloud services are you doing? Are you keeping up with this new concept or do you find this “magic” too much?

Published in Software Stories








