“Cloud this!” “Cloud that!” “Don’t worry, it’s in my cloud!”

What is cloud computing? The cloud has been in conversations of companies more and more lately. The concept of cloud computing was introduced to us somewhere in the late 2000s and has been taken advantage of and utilized ever since, by companies and consumers. So, what is cloud computing? In the simplest terms, it uses the Internet to store and access data and programs instead of your computer’s physical hard drive.

The term “cloud” is just a metaphor for the Internet.

McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, has claimed that eighty percent of the large companies that it has surveyed in North America are either looking at cloud services or have already started using it.

Common cloud applications include: Dropbox, Google Drive, Gantter, Skype, Moo, MailChimp, and Evernote.

How does cloud computing work?

Speaking in terms of an organization, only one computer needs to load or login to an application or cloud service, instead of installing it on every computer, and from there that application would let employees and registrants to log in and start using the cloud.

There are three types of cloud computing:

• Public Cloud: This cloud is open to use by the general public by a service provider that hosts cloud infrastructure. The user has no visibility or control over where the computing infrastructure is hosted.
• Private Cloud: This cloud is used by one organization only and is more secure than a public cloud. Businesses are able to host applications in the cloud and it provides flexibility, provisioning, automation, and monitoring among it’s users.
• Hybrid Cloud: A combination of two or more clouds (public and private) that will stay as unique entities, but are bounded together. The benefit of a hybrid cloud is when there are unexpectedly high workloads. This is where the public cloud is used as a resource.

There are three service models of cloud computing:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Used for accessing, monitoring, and managing data center infrastructures, and users pay-per-use, ex. CenturyLink Cloud.
• Platform as sa Service (PasS): Used for application while providing cloud components to software. Developers manage the applications and use PaaS to have a framework to build on.
• Software as a Service (SaaS): Uses the Internet to provide applications managed by a third-party host, and the client has access to the interface, ex. Microsoft Office 365.

What are the benefits?

Aside from what cloud computing is, there are many benefits to converting over to the cloud:

• It gets applications up and running at a faster rate
• Allows IT to adjust resources more quickly to meet business demands
• Less maintenance
• Less costly (decreased amount of money spent on hardware, software, and licensing fees)
• Accessible anywhere at anytime, as long as there is an Internet connection
• Unlimited storage capacity (almost)
• Backing up and restoring is easier since it is not on a physical device

The cloud is a great upgrade from the tradional form of storage and use of applications. There really is no downside…unless you forget your login information, which is always retrievable!

Alinity is a cloud-based licensing/regulatory body management system used to assist with licensing your members. Click below to find out even MORE about the cloud and if it’s for you.