Cloud Computing

By: Angelo Kaufmann

Cloud computing is simply the practice of using remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. Examples of cloud computing are online file storage, media, and streaming application.

In another perspective, it is like renting a scalable and flexible computer that you don’t have to buy upfront.

Before the 2000s, acquiring a software product or having a backup for your large data can cost you an arm and a leg, due to the equipment needed. It can even reach your costing up to millions if you run a company that has digital data or a program you needed to access all the time, especially outside the confines of your office.

You need to have a computer or server where all your data will be stored and experts that will handle these servers, backed up data, maintenance, and troubleshoot on-site more often. These things used to be expensive and complicated.

Even for personal purposes, you would need to buy a computer or a backup hard drive every other year just to keep your data safe. Before you knew it, you already lost your treasured data because of equipment failure.

Today we have inexpensive cloud servers which you can rent for the faction of what you would be spending in the past. Cloud servers eliminate the hassle of going through all the technical processes like installing and setting up the equipment, not to mention the routine task to make sure your data is safe and up to date.

By subscribing to cloud servers you eliminate a lot of troubles for maintenance, troubleshooting, backing up, and safeguarding your data. All of these can be automated and performed for you by your chosen cloud provider. Furthermore, you can access the data anywhere even just by using your mobile phones through the internet.

Of course, since cloud servers are technically subscription services, you would have to make sure that you keep paying the fees for these services as long as you are using them, just the way you pay your apartment rent. Like any apartment, not paying the fees would result in an eviction, in cloud computing, you lose access to your data and sometimes after a considerable amount of time even lose the data itself for other consumers to use.

You should also make sure that you secure your cloud credentials the way you care for your bank credentials to avoid people with malicious intent to access your data.

Cloud servers generally provide a high level of security, neglecting one’s cloud credentials is usually unpreventable and often times it will cost the security of your data. Make sure that only you keep to know your credentials and your security passwords must be difficult enough that it is impossible to guess special characters, mixing up lower and upper cases with numbers and make it as lengthy as you possibly can.

In conclusion cloud services are cheap and a  secure way to store, access, update, process, and backup your data, photos, music, documents, and programs. You only pay for what you use and adjust your subscription based on your needs.

 

Angelo Kaufmann is a software engineer with 10 years of experience in security systems, software development, and strategic technical management. He is currently the Strategic Technical Manager of Satellite GPS Tracking and Asset Management System Corporation, the developer and owner of SafeSat and Findr.