Cloud computing has long transformed from being just a buzz phrase used by computer experts and tech journalists to a household term. No matter where you look, you’ll see it in action, be it on a computer, mobile device, or even gaming. This rapid growth in its popularity and prevalence is hardly surprising because the service is clearly designed with the convenience of both consumers and the corporate world in mind. Like with any other contemporary technology though, there are still some wrinkles that are yet to be ironed out.
The life under the cloud
With the wave of clouding computing hitting against the shores of both consumer industry and the corporate world really hard, it’s safe to say that it is indeed the future, unless of course a better computer model surfaces. There is just too much on offer by cloud computing to doubt its sustainability or survivability for even a second.
With the applications and data hosted on the cloud computing system instead of a bulky hard drive or internal server, you have the convenience, or luxury, of accessing them from anywhere, provided you have access to the Internet. Furthermore, the storage capacity of the cloud computing service is typically pretty large, thus allowing you to have access to pretty much all your data at all times.
That, however, is not all. In an age when technology is undergoing continuous evolution, cloud computing system offers you a bit of stability. You will no longer have to worry about the muscle of your current system and investing in new hardware every few years, if not months, because your system will no longer have to do all the heavy lifting. Instead, the workload shifts to the cloud computing system. This is particularly a great thing for corporations, who will be able to work with streamlined computers, thus saving cost on both new hardware and IT support.
The business sector further benefits from cloud computing due to its SaaS (Software as a Service) application. Rather than buying additional software or software licenses for all its employees, the company can ensure that all its workforce has the right tools to do their job by simply paying the cloud computing service provider a metered fee.
Rain and thunder
One thing that you can always expect from technology is that no matter how great it may be, there’s always a flipside to it. Unfortunately, cloud computing system becomes no exception to this trend either.
The biggest and definitely understandable concern about cloud computing system is security. How can you or large corporations trust someone with your personal, sensitive and important data? What guarantee is there about its safety? However, since reliability and trust is the life and blood for companies offering cloud computing services, one can expect them to have pretty robust security measures in place.
Another concern about embracing the new computer model is privacy. You may be able to log into the service and access the applications and data on the go, but this convenience or luxury may cost you your privacy, considering the many sophisticated tools that hackers have acquired over the years.
There is also an ongoing debate over whether people or companies lose ownership of their data once it’s been uploaded on a cloud computing service.
Even though there are still certain security, privacy and legal wrinkles yet to be ironed out, cloud computing service is very much here to stay. While the consumers and business world may have a lot to gain from this shift, the IT industry, especially companies involved in hardware manufacturing, maintenance and repair are not too enthusiastic about it as the contemporary computing model is likely to take a heavy toll on their business.
