I’ve been hearing the term “Cloud Computing” for years and never had a good grasp of it myself and realized that perhaps there were others who also did not fully understand this concept. I recently spent some time with a few of Teltek’s technicians and did some research to discover the following.
Wikipedia defines cloud computing as “…the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices as a metered service over a network”. In other words, applications managed at a remote location can grant you access to your computer anywhere, at any time.
It is believed that the “cloud” was named in reference to the cloud shaped symbol that is often used in technical drawings to illustrate the internet and wide area network. As all of you know, the internet is not a tangible object but more a network of servers and routers where information is accessed and stored.
Cloud computing allows a company to run their computers through a main server or collection of servers instead of equipping individual desktop units with licenses and software. Users access applications that are housed at a remote location, not on the individual computer or device they are working on.
The advantages of cloud computing can be numerous. Most technical difficulties that an IT person would need to address can be managed at the site where the cloud is hosted, which is typically a datacenter, otherwise known as a room or building where the servers that run the applications are housed. The datacenter is also responsible for powering and maintaining the servers and keeping the software updated.
This is can be a very scalable way to work; you can add or subtract users fairly easily without spending a lot of money on equipment, repairs and upgrades. Cost savings are also realized in the electricity needed to power and cool these servers, which the datacenter is now responsible for. The company pays a monthly fee to the datacenter to assume these responsibilities.
Telecommuting, a concept Teltek holds in high regard, is made much simpler with cloud computing since employees can access everything they need from alternate locations and can be just as productive while out of the office. The prominent use of wireless devices also makes a good case for cloud computing since they are not physically connected to a network.
There are three types of clouds: Private, Public and Hybrid. These terms refer to accessibility to the information stored in the cloud. A Private cloud protects sensitive data with a firewall and only allows access of it to certain people. Public Cloud information is available to everyone and a Hybrid cloud is a combination of Private and Public.
So what is the downside of cloud computing? In the event an internet connection is lost, you may not be able to access your applications or documents, since nothing is stored on your computer. Problems at the datacenter can create havoc for the companies being hosted and order will not be restored until the issue is repaired.
A certain amount of control is relinquished as companies have to rely on the data center to upgrade software and repair problems as quickly as they would.
Are you on the fence about Cloud Computing or telecommuting? Call IT support in London by Mustard IT today href=”http://teltekitservices.com/services/”>consultation to determine if either of these concepts would be a good fit for your business.