What Is Cloud Computing, and How Can It Help You?

I have a friend who emails every important document that he has on his computer to his Gmail account. He has done it for years, and I have always thought that it is a clever way to make sure that his important information stays safe, no matter what happens to his computer!

Fortunately, big name software and server companies feel the same way, and they have come up with something similar, that is a lot easier to do. It is called cloud computing, and like my friend’s emailed documents, it puts all your important information on the internet, where you can access it at any time, from anywhere, using a use
ame and password.

Cloud computing is essentially a service that offers you online storage space for your documents and other information. It can be as simple as a free service like GoogleDocs, that also allows you to share your documents with others, or one of the paid for online storage systems.

Because companies that provide these types of services are focused on providing quality server space, their security is often far greater than anything you could achieve within your own company, and their servers are usually fast and responsive, which means that even if your local area network is not fantastic, you can share information quickly and easily.

When it comes to the benefits for the business owner, there are many that spring to mind with cloud computing.

The first is that no matter what happens to your computer, your server, or anything else, your information is safe and accessible. I will never forget, in the early nineties, before backups became the norm, when a friend’s computer was stolen. Nine months of work had been on the hard drive of the computer, and without backups, everything had to be redone. Fortunately, there were hardcopies of all the data, but it was still an arduous and time-consuming process to get that information recaptured.

There is even a worse scenario than that though. What if your computer is damaged, destroyed, lost or stolen, and you don’t have hardcopies, and you don’t have a backup? Everything you had been working on would be lost, and you’d have to start again, from scratch.

Another important factor for many businesses is storage space. When you consider the type of data that is being created these days – videos, animations, presentations, photographs and graphics heavy documents – it becomes clear that companies are needing bigger, faster computers all the time to process all that data. When you use cloud computing, you could essentially work off a tiny computer, but still be able to store, and access, very large files quickly and easily.

Then there’s accessibility. We’ve already discussed sharing files with other users, on platforms like GoogleDocs, but the concept can easily be scaled up using one of the larger cloud computing services. You could create two accounts, one for public access by employees, and one for confidential information. Then, simply by sharing login information, or providing key employees with access information, you could effectively collaborate with employees in different states or provinces, or even on the other side of the globe.

The ability to access information from everywhere also provides you, and your employees, with greater mobility – whether it’s viewing a presentation in a client’s offices, or working on financials while you’re out of the country. With a laptop and an internet connection, you and your employees can have all the convenience of being in your office, while you’re anywhere in the world.

If you do decide to take advantage of the cloud-computing phenomenon in your own business, then you have several options. You could choose to test the waters with a free service like Google’s, or you could look for a service provider that offers smaller ‘starter’ packages, with fewer users, and less storage space. Make sure that you choose a provider that offers month-to-month service, so that if you want to switch, you’re not tied to a contract.

Cloud computing really does solve all of the storage, security and data integrity problems that small businesses face, and it’s entirely possible that in the next few years, it will become the norm, rather than the exception. So why not make sure that your business is equipped going forward, and get your information on the cloud!