Curious about cloud computing? We look at the advantages and concerns about this emerging technology and how it can work for you personally and in your business.
Access all areas
Cloud storage lets you store your information over the internet through remote data centres, rather than a networked hard drive. This means you can access your data from anywhere, including from your smartphone, as long as you have an internet connection. Users log in to the cloud service through the web and then have access to all the programs needed for their work.
Research by analyst firm IDC, predicts global use of storage to grow by 26 per cent by 2013, with Australian trends matching this rate. More businesses are adopting the cloud because it drives down IT costs and better protects their data from issues such as computer crashes, according to IDC’s research. Using cloud storage also moves expenses from the capital realm, since you no longer have to employ IT staff or manage a large network of computers, to operational costs related to paying the cloud service provider, IDC’s research points out.
Greater mobility
Another reason to consider cloud storage, aside from cost and data protection, is it’s ‘hosted’, meaning your service provider handles any IT issues. You no longer need to employ someone onsite to oversee a large volume of data. Given the rapid rise of mobile use across Australia – Google predicted nearly half of Australians would own a smartphone by the New Year – cloud storage can also help businesses foster greater mobility and collaboration among workers, who would be able to access their work from anywhere.
Enter the iCloud
In the United States, increased mobile use is one of the big game changers in the cloud storage market, according to research from Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc. Apple is helping facilitate the trend with the introduction of iCloud, an iPhone-compatible solution offering document and photo storage, backup abilities and synching of calendars, emails and contacts. But the real reason it’s revolutionising the cloud storage market is because of its integration with apps. If there’s an available app for something you created on your desktop, you can automatically sync it with your phone no matter where it’s saved.
Pros and cons
Research commissioned by CSC in April 2010 showed that current cloud storage users in Australia list flexibility, cost savings and faster deployment as advantages of using the technology. The IDC research listed security and reliability – a guarantee that the cloud service would always work and be accessible – as chief concerns among businesses. Security breaches and data crashes are possible anywhere data is stored, but choosing a trusted company with a solid reputation can make these issues less of a possibility.
Costs and options
You can get cloud storage through major computer or phone companies, or use an online service such as Dropbox. The service you choose will depend on a few factors, such as the amount and type of data you need to store, your computer’s operating system and your budget.
Some cloud storage is free – Google Docs is technically a cloud-based system that lets you store and share documents. Most of the no-cost options don’t allow you to store a lot of data, usually only a few gigabytes, though some, like Microsoft’s SkyDrive, offer 25GB. Companies typically charge monthly or annually for the amount of data you upload to, or download from, the cloud. The amounts of data are by megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte. Dropbox, for instance, offers 2GB free, then charges $9.99 USD for an extra 50GB of storage. For those who are storing really large files like videos, you might need terabytes of data, which can cost up to $1,000 for 4TB.
Are you using cloud computing at your business? What are the benefits and challenges?