What Is Cloud Computing?
In recent years, cloud computing has become more and more popular by both businesses and individuals. It offers several unique benefits that simply aren’t found in traditional local computing. Even with this newfound popularity, however, many people are left in the dark as to what cloud computing actually is. If you are still trying to wrap your head around the technology of cloud computing, keep reading and we’ll break it down for you.
Cloud Computing – The Basics
Cloud computing refers to a type of network-based technology where hardware and software are stored and accessed at a remote location. This definition can undoubtedly be confusing to some, so let me give you an example — say you fire up your home computer, open up your internet browser and log in to a web-based accounting program like Quickbooks Online. Since the hardware and software being used for the calculations are stored remotely, this would be considered a form of cloud computing.
The most notable characteristic of cloud computing is the fact that data is stored and accessed from a remote location. If you can access a program from you computer without using the internet or local networking technology, chances are it’s not using cloud technology. The “cloud” refers to a remote location that can be accessed through multiple devices.
Advantage of Using Cloud Computing
There are several unique advantages of cloud computing that can’t be ignored. For starters, it allows you to perform computing work or tasks from anywhere in the world. When you are hundreds of miles away from home on a business trip, you can log in to your cloud computing server to access your files and programs. There’s no need to haul your massive home desktop PC around with you since all of your files are stored at a remove location.
Another advantage of cloud computing is the fact that all of your data is backed up in case of a crash or system failure. Let’s face it, I think we’ve all lost important data at one point or another. Having your data stored remotely at a cloud location offers a valuable backup in case of such a disaster. If your local desktop PC crashes, just log in to your cloud server and download it again.
The truth is that these are just a few of the many reasons why so many people rely on cloud computing. As technology improves, we’ll likely be seeing more programs and services take the route of cloud computing.