follow-up on cloud computing

This valuable follow-up on cloud computing is thanks to Susan Risdal of Enterprise Technology Services, LLC: “The biggest drawback of working on the cloud is that you no longer own your data. Anything you put onto Google docs ultimately belongs to Google. Same with Gmail. Because of that my company is building its own cloud for our largest client (350+ users). Once the infrastructure is in place and operating to our (top) security standards, we'll offer it to our small business clients to share. This way everyone has more control over their own data. When Microsoft first offered the cloud, is was billed based on bandwidth. That can be inexpensive (for a low-use company) becoming very expensive for a company as it grows. There are certain attacks against a website, called distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The most common method is to saturate the hosting server with requests for service. We asked the Microsoft reps if they take responsibility for protecting against those attacks and they said "no". A DDoS attack drives bandwidth to its max and insures it stays there so that no one else can use the website. Therefore, on a bandwidth billing system, if a competitor hit you with a DDoS attack, you could go out of business in a few hours because you'll owe Microsoft hundreds of thousands of dollars (our guys calculated it at $350,000/hour.”

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Will you use cloud computing?

I swear Steve Jobs would mind meld our brains to our devices if he could. I’ve read that he never wanted the button on the iPad- he wanted everything to work with tactile input, and now it looks like he may get his wish with the next rollout— rumor has it that Apple just added multi-touch gestures for the iPad and next iPhone.

But I digress- today’s topic is about cloud computing. With Jobs’ keynote speech on Monday at the WWDC (WorldWide Developer’s Conference), Apple introduced their next computer operating system, Lion, which will make our computers more like iPads, and simplify syncing across devices. Documents you create with Pages, Apple’s text editing application, for example, will be automatically saved to “the cloud” so whatever device you next use Pages on, your document will be available to you. This will likely spur more people to use Apple software, esp. those who are casual users, but is unlikely to change the habits of heavy-duty word processing or layout program users such as myself.

The first 5 GB of this cloud storage is free, and more is available for a subscription cost; this from apple.com: “Your purchased music, apps, and books, as well as your Photo Stream, don’t count against your free storage. That leaves your mail, documents, Camera Roll, account information, settings, and other app data. And since those things don’t use as much space, you’ll find that 5GB goes a long way.”

So, readers, how comfortable are you with the idea that all your information will be stored on Apple servers? How much privacy are we willing to forgo to take advantage of the convenience and downright cool features available to us? Take a moment to vote in the poll!

Will you use cloud computing?

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are you ready for cloud computing?

Are you ready to turn all your files over to "the cloud?" This interesting question is one that the major players such as Google are hoping you will answer "YES!" to.

Anyone who has used the extensive services Google offers online, such as Google docs* can see a future where you may not need all the 'general' apps on your local hard drive, as long as you're willing to move your production online and rely on a service to ensure your creations will be there when you need them. Oh, goody- 24/7 access to work… OTOH, as our lives and businesses become more global, the ability to collaborate across miles and time zones will be essential, so access wherever we are at the moment may just save our sanity in the end.

*Google docs allows you to create word processing documents, presentations (slides), spreadsheets, forms and drawings in a browser window and then either keep them private, email them, or publish them as web pages. They are fantastic for anytime you are away from your home computer or just don't want another program open, which I've often used them for. The current obstacles to widespread use are privacy concerns, reliability and connectivity. Privacy comes down to whether you trust Google not to get hacked, I guess. As for reliability, keep in mind that even the mighty Google isn't immune to server failure— my advice is the same I gave my kids when they went off to college: email your most important documents to yourself at another account, so they are duplicated and accessible online. As for connectivity, we all know that is hit or miss in some locations, especially if you are relying on wi-fi for your web connection. If you're a business person on the go, you probably already have a mobile hotpsot or 3G card that keeps you online, in which case it would be rare that access would be a problem.

Apple will make their own "iCloud" announcement at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, June 6th. Stay tuned…

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All content ©2011Canzani Graphics