Love is in the Air....

Learn to love the Cloud – it’s nearly Valentine’s Day after all!

It’s one of those things that happen in life, you hear a word over and over again and you start to dislike it even if you don’t really know what it was. Or you do know what it is and you’re sick of everyone talking about …

Take ‘Cookie’ for example — 5 years ago I would have thought these were round things that taste amazing and come in a wide range of caloric flavours.

However now we have another type of ‘Cookie’, the ones that constantly ask you to accept them…ok yes I always accept them as I want to look at the website, but what actually is the ‘Cookie’.

Now read the next line (the definition of this persuasive little character) and ask yourself if you actually knew this already?

“A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.”

As humans we are more likely to dislike things we don’t understand out of the fear factor and also interestingly we would rather believe what people tell us rather than ask the question. What is it?

So do you know what the word Cloud means, honestly?

And no I am not talking about those white fluffy things in the sky which are currently descending chaos on the UK with that other white fluffy stuff.

So the ‘Cloud’…

Basically it is (and this will be very basic) - the use of computing resources (hardware and software) that are delivered as a service over a network (typically the Internet). So you can use the internet to storage, back up and manage your computing resources.

And why is it called the ‘Cloud’ – simply because the diagram used to represent all the functions is cloud shaped….eureka!!  (See below)  

So are you starting to like this word a little more now?

Why should you love it? Here are the 5 reasons I have found to be the most widespread.

1.      It’s cheap

       Clouds operate like a utility: You pay only for what you use, and it is managed. 

            2. It’s simple

The latest technology without the need to test or customize them for your needs. Users are better able to digest small and frequent software changes than infrequent overhauls. Thus saving time too.  

3. It’s Multi - platform

Users can connect using any device and from any location no matter the distance. Snow day…no problemo!!

  

4.  It’s Flexible

The Cloud’s almost limitless, expandable and flexible. It can change with your     business functions and actions in real time.

5. Its Secure
There has been some debate on this, whether your data is safe or not.  But with many packages cladding themselves with military grade technology it’s safe to say it’s well looked after in the Cloud world.
 

So as you will see the Cloud has a lot of love to give you a whole global force of clouds in fact, admit it they don’t seem like a big horrible looming threat. And even if you aren’t quite at the loving point, liking is a good start!