What is The Cloud?
The cloud. This ultra mysterious buzzword has been gaining traction over the past decade or so, and barring the fact that you’re a recluse living under a rock, you’ve most likely heard of it. The question is, does anyone actually know what it is?
To take a line from the hilarious Jason Segal in his latest movie, Sex Tape, as he tries to explain to his wife that there is no way he can simply delete the amateur video he accidentally uploaded — “Nobody understands the cloud, it’s a f*****g mystery!”
A recent survey from Wakefield Research queried thousands of American adults and found that 51% of respondents, a vast majority being Millennials, believe that stormy weather can interfere with the cloud. Clearly there is some intense confusion surrounding the cloud if more than half believe it can be affected by bad weather! And yet, ironically 97% of the population actually uses the cloud on a daily basis via social networking, online shopping, and file sharing services.
So what actually causes the mass confusion and mystery when referring to the cloud? Is it the ambiguity of the name? The intangibility of it? The truth is, the cloud is really easy to understand. On its most fundamental level, it is a network of computers used to store and process information. Instead of one singular computer, think of large groups of computers. These computers are housed all over the world in the most random of places, from a small corner inside an obsolete warehouse to a giant cargo container in a Walmart parking lot.
When you send something to the cloud, it goes to a number of these servers located throughout the world. Sending it to multiple places is to ensure its security. If one server were to fail, your information would still be completely safe. It’s important to understand that the cloud is a very real, very physical place. It’s not some magical mist floating above you.
Now that we understand what the cloud is, what is it that makes it so special?
On the end user level, the most beneficial aspects are the ultimate accessibility and no need for storage. Imagine a user starts watching a movie on Netflix on their laptop, then pauses and moves to their iPad. Or perhaps they have files that they were working on, on their work computer, and now want to access them from their iPhone. Information is accessible anytime, and from any devices. Additionally, all files uploaded do not take up any storage space on your devices. The information is housed on the servers and can be pulled anytime without bogging down your hard drive and taking up valuable storage space.
On a business level, the cloud has opened up immense opportunity. It’s enabled for:
- Increased collaboration
- Total flexibility
- Automatic software updates
- Reduced capital costs
Take Retrieve Technologies for example. All employees from marketing, to sales, to IT can easily collaborate with one another on projects through services such as Google Drive. There is no need to constantly send emails with attachments and then resend them when cloud services such as Google Docs enables all collaborators to update and edit simultaneously and in real time. Additionally, any colleague can access information from anywhere and on any device enabling for the utmost in flexibility. If a colleague is sick or is unable to make it into the office, they can work from home without missing a beat. Automatic updates allows for everyone in the office to stay current and utilize technology to its utmost potential. It also allows for our consumers to have the most up-to-date product without ever having to do anything. And lastly, the cloud has enabled Retrieve to cut down on capital costs because there is no need to buy expensive software programs or spend money on hardware and licensing fees.
The benefits of using cloud-based services are high in volume and will only continue to grow as the awareness and utilization of the cloud itself grows. It is in your best interest to understand the cloud, or at least pretend you do, because it is here and it is here to stay.