Cloud computing is a hot buzz word in the information technology field, yet many people are still confused as to what “cloud computing” actually entails.
Cloud computing is basically the concept of allowing applications, programs and data to reside at a central location while having the ability to access it through an Internet connection. With cloud computing, the “cloud” refers to an offsite data center that hosts servers that are accessible through the Internet. While this concept is often billed as an exciting new technology, many businesses and individuals have already been using cloud computing for years.
Businesses that have remote users connecting through VPN tunnels to access data located onsite are actually using a form of cloud computing. When using a VPN, the remote user is accessing the data located at another site through the Internet, or cloud, instead of having to be at the same physical location as the data. Additionally, if you have ever uploaded a picture to a photo sharing or social network, you have used cloud computing as well. Once your photo is uploaded to the sharing site, you can then access it from any Internet connection, and you do not need to be using the PC where the photo was originally stored in order to view it. Instead of the photo only being stored locally, it is stored in the “cloud.”
However, cloud computing goes one step further than a traditional VPN or photo hosting solution. With the exciting new cloud-computing solutions available today, it is possible for a business to host applications, programs and data vital to their business on computers that reside in state-of-the-art data centers without having to purchase the server hardware.
Instead of purchasing an expensive hardware server, hosted cloud-computing solutions allow businesses to rent servers from professional hosting companies for low monthly fees. As a result, more businesses can utilize high-performance servers without worrying about cost constraints.
