IT
Is ‘Cloud Computing just a lot of hot air?
11th August 2011
Explaining how a virtual server can help your business
In this regular column Charles Zealey, of ITSolve, covers all aspects of business and personal computing. If you have a question about IT matters, e-mail it to Charles at: itmatters@itsolve.co.uk
You can also follow him on Twitter – http://twitter.com/itsolve
I was taken to task by a reader following last month’s column for using the term ‘Cloud Computing’ without explaining what it means. So this month we look at what we call ‘The Cloud’ with a view to understanding what it is about and where it might be useful.
So what do we mean by Cloud Computing? Essentially, it is a way of using computers housed in a centralised data centre which is accessed using the internet, often by means of a web browser, in place of a dedicated computer housed in your local office.
So instead of using word-processing and spreadsheets on your PC, you might use something like Google Apps to edit and store your documents. Or a company which uses a dedicated business application might choose to run it from the Cloud rather than running it on locally based servers.
Is there a silver lining?
So why would you want to do this? Well for one thing it could well reduce the cost of administering your infrastructure.
Much of the set up and administration is done for you, there is no need to purchase and configure machines, and you will not have to deal with the routine maintenance. Secondly, it may make access easier, particularly if you travel a lot or work from different locations.
It may well save you money on running costs as well. If you own your own server you are paying for it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whereas in the Cloud you will generally be paying by the hour. If you shut the machine down at night and over the weekend you will be saving.
Of course, if you are not using your machine it can be used by someone else, or the people who run the data centre can turn it off and save power. So there is a benefit to the environment too.
Is your head in the Cloud?
So is it for you? If you do all your work from a single laptop, then probably not. If you run a few servers, particularly if you have peaks of load or a variable work-load, it could well be worth considering. Is your head in the Cloud? Perhaps it should be.
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