Cloud computing emerged in 2007, allowing services to be moved to the internet instead of being stored on a local computer. Companies like Google and Microsoft are experimenting with cloud-based programs, while smaller companies offer cloud-based services. The goal is to make the technology user-friendly and simple. Concerns about storing personal data in the cloud remain, but cloud computing is here to stay.
Cloud computing is another definition of grid computing technology used in the mid to late 1990s. Emerged in late 2007, this method is used to allow services used in daily practice to be moved to the Internet instead of stored on a local computer.
Email has been available in both methods for some time and is a small example of cloud computing technology. As services like Gmail® and Google’s Yahoo Mail® increase in use, people no longer need to use Outlook or other desktop applications for email. Viewing email in a browser makes it available anywhere an Internet connection is available.
In 2007, other services including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations were moved into the cloud computing arena. Google delivered word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications in its cloud environment and integrated them with Gmail® and Google Calendar®, providing an entire office environment on the web (or in the cloud). Microsoft and other companies are also experimenting with moving programs to the cloud to make them more convenient and more accessible to computer and Internet users.
Cloud computing at this stage is very popular, aside from the big players like Microsoft and Google, companies have only sprung up to provide cloud-based services as replacements or enhancements to the applications on your PC today. Some of these companies are Zoho.com, an online office suite, Evernote, a site dedicated to online note-taking, and RemembertheMilk.com, the online task management.
Computer technologies and new programming or development techniques change quite frequently, the goal in cloud computing seems to be to make the technology that the user sees very user friendly and keep the experience as simple as possible. Internet-based development has skyrocketed recently with the boom of blogs and other social networking services aimed at finding new ways to help individuals and businesses communicate with customers and each other in the cloud arena.
Cloud computing is here to stay, at least for now. There are some concerns about storing personal data in the cloud and the security of this information, which are quite valid. The biggest one is identity theft. Companies that provide cloud-based services are very committed to security, however it remains up to the user whether or not they want to place their data in the cloud. Before you discount cloud computing, take a look at the services out there and try a few. Before long, the computing environment as it stands today could be completely cloud-based.
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