Hey, You, Get Onto My Cloud

Cloud computing has become quite ubiquitous these days, something we hear mentioned often in both our professional and personal lives. It is usually described as revolutionary, and purported to change the way we store, access, and distribute information. But what exactly is ‘the cloud’ and what can it do for your business? The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines cloud computing as “a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction." In more simple terminology, cloud computing is networked storage space; delivering hosted services over the Internet. By storing data and software someplace other than a physical computer, the cloud allows users to access it anywhere, anytime, over the Internet. Cloud computing is more cost effective than storing your documents and data locally in your office, and especially beneficial to small and medium-sized businesses. No longer are companies required to purchase hardware such as memory devices and servers, or operate and maintain costly data centers to accommodate all of their information. And more capacity can easily be added at any time, enabling you to store an unlimited amount of data. With less hardware operating in your office, your company will use less energy and lessen its environmental impact. A report by the Carbon Disclosure Project found that by taking advantage of cloud computing, businesses reduce their energy consumption and lower carbon emissions. And sharing information electronically reduces the amount of paper used, reducing waste and the resources needed for more paper. The cloud ensures business continuity by providing a safety net for a company in the event of a disaster such as a fire, flood, tornado, etc. Backing up and storing your critical data and resources off-site will ensure you are prepared for disaster recovery. And perhaps the most important benefit of cloud computing: providing online access to your resources enables convenient, on-demand access to your data, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from anywhere. Contact us today to learn more about getting your business onto the cloud!

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