Have you heard the phrase “cloud computing”?
Here’s a great video explaining what Cloud Computing is.
The concept is that instead of having programs on your hard drive, the programs are sitting on a computer somewhere else. A good example is Google Docs. Instead of using Microsoft Word or WordPerfect to write your letters, etc. you can use Google Docs. The program Google Docs isn’t on your computer, you didn’t install it. Instead, you just went to your Google Account and began using the program there.
The benefits of cloud computing are that your computer is not packed with programs that constantly need updating and upgrading. Your computer just has to be connected to the Internet. It’s the simplification of computers really. Imagine, no more messing with programs that don’t work well with other programs or installations or register problems! I would love that.
The downside is that you don’t have total control, in other words you have to trust that the company you’re using the program from will always have their computer up and running properly. And of course you always need the Internet access in order to use the program.
But, what can you do on a cloud? Here are some ideas and some programs that you can use.
Documentation / Spreadsheets
As mentioned above you can use programs like Google Docs and Zoho for cloud computer for documentation and spreadsheets, even presentations.
HTML / Website Page Editors
Mozilla has a program called Bespin which is essentially an html editor in the cloud.
Photo Albums
There are many photo albums on clouds these days. Shutterfly, Snapfish, Photobucket, Flickr just to name a few. I wonder if these photo album programs were the first cloud programs?
Email Programs
There are still some businesses that use programs like Outlook to manage their email. I never really know why because the risk of viruses and infections to the computers are so high. But, you CAN effectively move your business email (and all other email) to programs like Gmail which will manage your email as effectively if not moreso than the old programs that sit on your computer.
Healthcare Databases
Yes, even companies can put their valuable information out on clouds and not worry about their computers crashing and losing all that valuable data. Sentryds provides healthcare providers with infrastructure in the clouds.
Education
Online universities have been getting bigger and better (I have a few friends getting their Bachelors and Masters degrees online) and it’s such a great solution. They can still work and do the “school work” at the same time. In today’s changing economy, for those who need to learn new skills for better job placement, this is a great alternative.
Business Management
There are so many programs out there on clouds now for businesses. Everything from Quickbooks Online to Basecamp Project Manager and CRM programs to Skype (telephones on a cloud).
I know there are many more out there – if you’re using a cloud computing program – tell us about it. We’d love to hear how you’re working in the clouds!
