Are You In The Dark About The Cloud?

Official Corporate Computing Document: You Don’t Know about the Cloud?

The term “cloud computing” is increasingly used, but what does it mean? Generally speaking, this means performing computer functions in systems physically located somewhere on the Internet. You may not know it, but you’ve been doing cloud computing for years. For example, you can use a Yahoo, AOL, Gmail or other provider’s inbox. Because the e-mail server is somewhere on the Internet, and the owner allows you to view email on your website, you’re actually doing your email function “in the cloud.” Alternative example, you can use a VoIP service such as Vonage or Skype. Because you use software (or Internet software) to talk through an Internet connection, and you use a server located somewhere on the Internet, you say “through the cloud.”

With cloud computing, you can use services and features that you may not be able to afford or maintain by owning all the hardware and/or software you need to operate them. For example, if you have a small business, you probably shouldn’t have your own web server and post it in your office just to host your own website. Instead, it’s much more profitable to pay a hosting provider or cloud computing service provider (CCSP) a few dollars a month to host your website on their servers.

As the economy pushes companies to reduce costs, the shift from day-to-day IT to cloud allows businesses to manage their internal IT infrastructure. support costs. A server in the cloud is usually owned by a cloud provider and is simply rented out, so the cloud/hosting provider is responsible for maintaining and updating physical hardware and/or software. As more and more companies save money by allowing employees to work from home, cloud computing provides all remote employees with the same IT luxury as office workers; such as shared files, deleted desktops and even additional phone numbers.

Scale is another characteristic of cloud computing. Most CCS only charge for the features or services you use. This allows you to pay as you grow or pay less when the needs decrease. You may have a seasonal peak and you need more IT resources for a few months. With cloud computing, you can zoom in and out as needed.

Security is one of the major challenges for businesses considering moving part or all of their IT infrastructure to the cloud. Many business leaders believe that data is safer if their own servers are located. In fact, the norm is usually the opposite. In most cases, CCSP hosts its cloud servers in secure data centers. Most data centers offer the high level of security, accessibility, and redundancy that their cloud computing provider has. Data centers have state-of-the-art backup Internet connections, huge power rooms with backup batteries the size of a refrigerator, diesel generators the size of a truck with a trailer, modern refrigeration systems, multi-layered biometric access systems, surveillance systems and fencing. Another form of security, of course, belongs to hackers. Most CCPS have firewalls and intrusion detection systems for their networks because the threat can disable their entire network, so it’s in their interest to protect themselves from downtime. Depending on the type of cloud services you use, you decide how to protect yourself from common threats such as viruses, trojans, and worms. Discuss your specific security issues with your CCSP.

More and more companies are forced to comply with certain requirements. For example, a medical office must comply with HIPAA rules that require access to information to be safe. Cloud computing can make it easier to manage people who have access to sensitive data because management is usually centralized. In addition, most cloud servers require secure SSL and/or VPN connections to access the information they hold.

Messages in the cloud:

Most people today have multiple computers and electronic devices, that is; desktop at work, laptop or iPad on trips and mobile phone, which is no more than a meter away. Having all these devices is great, but working with three different versions of email, contacts and calendar items can be tedious. Your phone can have one set of contacts, and your computer at work – another, and the information can be different even for the same person! Using a messaging cloud, your contacts, calendar, and email are stored centrally, and all your devices are updated in the cloud. For example, if you add a calendar event to your mobile device, your device will take the event to the cloud. The server in the cloud will then send the same calendar item to your desktop and laptop. If you update someone’s phone number on your contact list, it will be instantly transferred to all your devices – all at lightning speed. Everything is in sync.

Backing up data in the cloud:

Have you ever lost data due to a hard drive failure, or was your laptop lost or stolen? Most companies will say yes. Everyone agrees that a data backup plan is necessary and necessary for any business. Some companies prefer to back up to tape, some use hard drives, and others have already started backing up their data to the cloud. Whichever option you choose, it’s always helpful to have multiple backups. Cloud backup stores data in a safe place, and many cloud backup services allow you to back up your data as often as you want, so you can be sure there’s an up-to-date copy. If you need to recover the file from the cloud, just download the backup/recovery software that has come to you and select the files you want to recover. Restoring anywhere is an important feature of cloud backups.