The next major shift in personal computing is undoubtedly 'cloud computing'. It's already been around for a few years but now it's really taking off due to increased data usage and high-speed bandwidth. All of the major tech manufactures are getting on-board with cloud computing including my own company Loblaw which plans to launch they're own cloud strategy this year.
In case your not familiar with this term, u might be thinking what any of this has to do with clouds...the answer is that for many years the Internet was represented on network diagrams by a cloud symbol. It was around 2008 that new services started to emerge that permitted computing resources to be accessed over the Internet prompting the label cloud computing to be used as an umbrella term. Basically, the 'cloud' is a term for online computing resources and storage.
In practical terms, the cloud is made up of giant data centers - also know as 'server farms', run by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Apple and a host of other emerging computing giants.
One of the major benefits of cloud computing is that data and applications are accessible from any computer or computing device (tablet, smartphone) on the Internet. This blog for example was written in Blogger (Google's online blogging application). My preferred method of email is to use a cloud email client such as Gmail so I'm not restricted to accessing my email on one local system using Rogers or Sympatico.
Another immediate advantage is that cloud computing can be collaborative...if I need a co-author on this blog, each of us could be working on the same version simultaneously.
I should point out however, that cloud computing does have a few drawbacks. Most obvious is that u need a reliable Internet connection. While this is not a major concern for most, the biggest fear is commonly security and privacy. Remember, anyone who sends an email is already trusting the confidentially of their message to an ISP (Internet service provider), not to mention all the other companies that host Internet infrastructure of which the message will travel.
It’s no surprise that many cloud experts predict that mobile cloud computing will become increasingly important in 2012. Given the numbers of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices shipped every day, more and more users are relying on the cloud as the main driver for satisfying their computing needs, whether it is data storage, applications or infrastructure.
Cloud computing is task-centric because the usage model is based entirely around what users want to achieve, rather than any particular software,hardware, or network infrastructure. Users do not have to purchase or install anything before using a cloud computing resource. This is the new ideology that progressive companies are starting to embrace as opposed to the per-defined computing environments still maintained by most organisations.
A list of some of the more popular cloud computing services to hit the mainstream are;
1. Apple iCloud
2. Amazon EC2
3. Microsoft Skydrive
4. DropBox (my personal favorite)
5. Kobo
6. Ubuntu One
7. Google Docs
8. Facebook
Technology analyst Gartner cited cloud computing as the most strategic technology development for 2010 that no business can ignore. For this reason, I predict cloud computing will become inevitable for the following three reasons:
1. Cloud computing will be essential to remain competitive
2. Cloud computing will be essential to be green
3. Cloud computing will be essential for next generation applications.
Google's Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has already stated that the Cloud computing revolution will be bigger than the advent of personal computing.
I tend to agree...
RPM
http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/why-ces-2012-should-have-been-called-the-cloud-electronics-show-184231
In case your not familiar with this term, u might be thinking what any of this has to do with clouds...the answer is that for many years the Internet was represented on network diagrams by a cloud symbol. It was around 2008 that new services started to emerge that permitted computing resources to be accessed over the Internet prompting the label cloud computing to be used as an umbrella term. Basically, the 'cloud' is a term for online computing resources and storage.
In practical terms, the cloud is made up of giant data centers - also know as 'server farms', run by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Apple and a host of other emerging computing giants.
One of the major benefits of cloud computing is that data and applications are accessible from any computer or computing device (tablet, smartphone) on the Internet. This blog for example was written in Blogger (Google's online blogging application). My preferred method of email is to use a cloud email client such as Gmail so I'm not restricted to accessing my email on one local system using Rogers or Sympatico.
Another immediate advantage is that cloud computing can be collaborative...if I need a co-author on this blog, each of us could be working on the same version simultaneously.
I should point out however, that cloud computing does have a few drawbacks. Most obvious is that u need a reliable Internet connection. While this is not a major concern for most, the biggest fear is commonly security and privacy. Remember, anyone who sends an email is already trusting the confidentially of their message to an ISP (Internet service provider), not to mention all the other companies that host Internet infrastructure of which the message will travel.
It’s no surprise that many cloud experts predict that mobile cloud computing will become increasingly important in 2012. Given the numbers of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices shipped every day, more and more users are relying on the cloud as the main driver for satisfying their computing needs, whether it is data storage, applications or infrastructure.
Cloud computing is task-centric because the usage model is based entirely around what users want to achieve, rather than any particular software,hardware, or network infrastructure. Users do not have to purchase or install anything before using a cloud computing resource. This is the new ideology that progressive companies are starting to embrace as opposed to the per-defined computing environments still maintained by most organisations.
A list of some of the more popular cloud computing services to hit the mainstream are;
1. Apple iCloud
2. Amazon EC2
3. Microsoft Skydrive
4. DropBox (my personal favorite)
5. Kobo
6. Ubuntu One
7. Google Docs
8. Facebook
Technology analyst Gartner cited cloud computing as the most strategic technology development for 2010 that no business can ignore. For this reason, I predict cloud computing will become inevitable for the following three reasons:
1. Cloud computing will be essential to remain competitive
2. Cloud computing will be essential to be green
3. Cloud computing will be essential for next generation applications.
Google's Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has already stated that the Cloud computing revolution will be bigger than the advent of personal computing.
I tend to agree...
RPM
http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/why-ces-2012-should-have-been-called-the-cloud-electronics-show-184231
Cloud Computing have a great impact on businesses.
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