By 
All the talk about “enterprise cloud computing” is leaving many people in a fog of confusion. They’ve heard the term, they’ve seen it in TV and computer magazine ads, they think they know what it means, but they’re still not sure what it is.
In truth, most Internet users are already quite familiar with cloud computing, but are unaware of the various applications that are already based on cloud technology. Anyone who has used web-based email, scheduling services, online file storage, or social bookmarking sites has already entered the cloud.
The technology has also moved into the warehouse for inventory control and shipment processing. This type of application is perfect for multi-chain retail stores and franchises.
Cloud computing is likely to move into other areas as well. Modern medical facilities use tablets to collect information. When records are kept in the “cloud”, all staff will have instant access to the data and will work together to provide coordinated treatment.
The legal profession requires the use of many types of documents. Law firms can scan legal documents, store them in the “cloud” and access them over the Internet. The “cloud” is the perfect environment to store legal documents because its sophisticated data retrieval techniques make it easy to find documents. All parties involved in legal and contractual proceedings have access to all case records via the cloud. The use of tablets will play an important role in the legal field.
The client in the cloud computing environment does not need special hardware and that is a real advantage for small businesses. Small business employees can use a PC, Mac, tablet, or an old PC, but the cloud won’t matter. Ironically, sometimes computers in the same office do not have compatible software, files, or data.
Ideally, a cloud user should have the same experience whether they are using their personal desktop computer or their mobile phone or tablet. Now, the data is transmitted to a cloud application where it is stored or retrieved when necessary.
Cloud service providers update their servers frequently. Businesses can take advantage of “cloud” data centers and their enormous scalable computing power. For example, a company may have a project that requires a lot of number crunching and computing power and with the “cloud” it’s close at hand. A business has access to computing power as well as easily accessible data storage and retrieval. There is no need for large disk farms to store all the data.
Another factor that the “cloud” deals with is the operating system, since cloud-based applications will be platform independent. So regardless of internal hardware, software or operating systems, the “cloud” will have the answers.
Large corporations have not underestimated the importance of cloud computing. After conducting studies on IT staffing patterns and small business budgets, IBM announced a major initiative to enter the cloud computing market. Of course, Google, an established master of the virtual domain, will be a big player in cloud computing.
Microsoft will also be a competitor with its strong reputation as a small business software provider. The most likely scenario is that IBM gets the large corporate market, Microsoft to cover the small and medium business market plus educational institutions, and Google to maintain a strong presence among consumers and the self-employed.
So now that the fog of confusion about “cloud computing” advertising has cleared away, nothing will surprise you.
Copyright (c) 2011 Sandra Tiffany