Cloud computing garners an ever increasing amount of press, ranging from companies touting its advantages to reports on new and worrying privacy concerns. Whether you are in favor of or against the mass migration to the cloud, its accompanying advantages and trends are undeniable key factors in determining where businesses will develop.
What Makes Cloud Computing Different?
Put simply, cloud computing is a mass migration away from apps running on single computers, creating or processing data tied to a single location. No longer are you restricted to your desk when editing a document or spreadsheet, or limited to doing so on your computer. Whether you prefer the slim form factor of a tablet or a small and powerful smartphone, cloud computing lets you work from anywhere and using many different types of devices.
Already Using the Cloud
Perhaps the most popular and accessible examples of cloud computing are Google’s various offerings. Google Docs is used heavily by businesses as a robust way to create and share documents, while Gmail is a fully-functional email client in the cloud. Whether you are using wireless internet or mobile broadband, these tools enable productivity on a wide range of devices and from any location. In addition to its consumer and business offerings, Google offers its Apps infrastructure to enable third parties to build their own cloud-based applications.
While many businesses tout the virtues of cloud-based applications, in many cases there simply is no acceptable substitute for a desktop app. Cloud-based storage solutions help fill this gap, providing convenient ways to share documents, media and other files between any number of connected devices and individuals. Services like Dropbox and Box.net make it incredibly easy to transparently synchronize gigabytes of files between computers, or to quickly access them on a phone or tablet.
Gaming on the Cloud
Cloud computing is even coming to supplant activities for which dedicated computers were typically tasked. Gaming is one such example. While many avid gamers build powerful desktops for the purpose, companies like OnLive shift those powerful processing requirements onto the cloud. The result is a gaming experience that works on everything from small, low-power devices to televisions, even enabling Mac users to enjoy PC-only titles.
Perhaps the most exciting development for cloud enthusiasts is Google’s ChromeOS platform. Built around a series of netbook computers designed to be connected via 3G or wireless internet, this project shifts most of the user-visible functionality of the operating system onto the cloud. Instead of running locally, ChromeOS applications launch in a web browser, with most intensive tasks happening remotely. This move enables Google to provide a powerful computing experience in a small form factor.
Cloud Trends
All of these applications require a different mindset among consumers and businesses. Toward that end, companies are beginning to migrate their hosting away from actual servers running specific applications, to virtualized software bundles that can be rapidly duplicated and deployed to scale or recover from disaster. To meet consumer demand, cloud hosting providers will continue to develop increasingly secure, scalable and simple solutions to help enterprises and startups alike on this outward migration.
The cloud offers individuals and businesses alike a huge number of advantages in our increasingly connected and distributed world. The best way to capitalize on these benefits is to acquire knowledge about the gains and risks alike as to make the most informed choice for any given situation.
Blake Sanders is a tech writer at broadband comparison site Broadband Expert. Blake writes on wireless internet, mobile broadband, and industry news and information.
Note: Photo courtesy of horiavarlan via FlickR Creative Commons.
Nicely written article.
I agree with your views that the Computer repair is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and there is no slowdown in sight. We can start a computer repair business with barely any overhead. We don’t have to worry about expensive equipment, high insurance costs, large office space, or even a busy retail store location in order to be successful. It’s also helped convert a couple people to Linux permanently after they liked using the media center which helps me push to my larger goal of converting the masses to the beauty of Linux! Thanks a lot.