Wrap Your Head Around The Cloud!

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last year or so, you have probably heard about The Cloud, or Cloud Computing.

“A cloud is a workload optimized service management platform enabling new consumption and delivery models.” -current IBM Commercial

I thought I'd take a few minutes and explain what the "Cloud" really is for those computer users out there that don't have a CS degree. The truth is the cloud concept is awesome but is not exactly new. Sure, there are innovations every day and the ability and methods of accessing, sharing and aggregating on-line data are continually evolving. But, accessing, sharing and aggregating online data is certainly nothing new.

In simple terms, if you store any data on the internet and pull that data down to your workstations using a browser, email client, customized software, etc., you are using the “Cloud.” If your website has a database connected to it, that database is essentially “in the Cloud.” If you use email, you use the Cloud – your email server. If you have a SharePoint site, other CMS, or shared on-line calendar, you are working in the Cloud. The Cloud is essentially another term for “Web Service.”

But, be careful not to confuse the term “Web Service” with “Internet Service Provider.” Some common Internet Service Provider (ISP) are AT&T, Comcast, C-Beyond, etc. Web Service, as defined by Wikidedia and the W3C is "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network.” In simple terms, a server on the internet providing something of use to other servers or workstations also connected to the internet is “in the Cloud.”

If your company is located in the Greater Houston Area and needs Professional IT Support and Service, give The PC Paramedics, Inc. a call at (281) 412-7183 or visit us online at http://thepcparamedics.com/.

For help developing or maintaining cloud computing solutions or CMS, contact WITTMER Group at (832) 303-WTMR or visit http://wittmergroup.com.