THE BASICS OF “THE CLOUD”
Posted by Len Diana on Tue, Jun 28, 2011 @ 02:59 PM
Everyone is talking about it but do you know what “the cloud” really is? It could be the most innovative technology development in decades or just a marketing tool that helps software companies be more profitable. According to the national Institute of Standards and Technology the definition of “the cloud reads: “Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.” Now that’s a mouthful and utterly confusing for most people. Think of Gmail, Hotmail and other email providers, or social media like Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn or a business application like Salesforce.com as cloud offerings. Basically, accessing the internet anytime, anywhere and being able to use the applications you need/want at your convenience.
If you’re wondering where the cloud came from, it’s older than you think. The concept dates back to the 60’s and originates from the cloud symbol used by flow charts and diagrams to symbolize the Internet. Interesting fact…The first reported public use of the term came in August 2006 at a search engine conference in San Jose, Cali. when Google CEO Eric Schmidt described one approach to data storage as “cloud computing”.
There are murky waters though when dealing with the cloud. Safety and security issues have been popping up in recent months. Maybe you’ve heard of the problems at Amazon or Google and the highly publicized Sony PlayStation Network breach. Hackers are targeting these large firms. Some are just having fun but others have more devious intentions. Is a hacker looking for your little firm in Any City, MA or are they more interested in breaking into TJMaxx? The legal ramifications are just beginning to be understood. The safety and security issues are being addresses by all these firms on an almost daily basis. Over the 4th of July weekend I’ll be sitting on a beach at the Jersey shore using my laptop and accessing the cloud. How about you?
