When you hear “the cloud” refer to computing and not the blue sky overhead, it refers to the network of servers that parties can access over the internet, alongside the databases and software that run on those servers. Cloud servers are basically in the sky, as they are in data centers located across the planet. There are no physical servers in your office if you are using cloud computing, but instead, you are relying upon the space and bandwidth available in the virtual cloud that spreads across the many servers that populate it.
The benefit of the cloud is two-fold. First, you don’t have to maintain physical servers in your office space. While you might think that servers are small and relatively easy to maintain, as your data needs grow, the space they consume increases, and certain humidity and temperature settings require ongoing maintenance for servers to function safely. This can entail logistics and costs to your business that you simply are not interested in having to deal with. The cloud removes the worry of climate-controlled space for your servers by hoisting your data needs into the cloud.
The second benefit of the cloud is that you don’t have to worry about the physical security of servers that support your data. If you are renting servers from a local data storage company, and the server’s physical space ignites or floods, you could find yourself in the unfortunate position of having no accessible data.
The cloud spreads this risk across the combined body of servers in the network so that if one server location goes down, your data remains secure. Whether or not your business is in a position where cloud computing is of value is an important question to ask before investing in this innovative and space-saving technology, as we’ll discuss below.