Rise up to the cloud-based T
Consumers and businesses are increasingly turning to storing and sharing digital content online. Ian Calcutt sheds light on what ‘the cloud’ could mean for you.
he ‘cloud’ is a prevalent buzzword in the technology world. In its simplest form, it means storing your content off-site – whether that location is your home or workplace – and being able to access it from anywhere and on anything with an internet connection. Cloud-based services differ slightly to web-based facilities such as online banking or shopping. They are not dependent on browsers, so you’ll find the interfaces usually run in their own apps on computers, tablets and smartphones. Portability is central to the cloud. Storage capacity and memory-intensive processing are not provided by the device in your hand, where technical resources may be limited; they come from the back-end infrastructure. In our daily lives, we are also becoming more comfortable with and reliant upon mobiles with internet access. Cloud services can offer back-ups for important documents, work in progress that you can finish on the train, or media such as photos and videos. Services
normally use a ‘freemium’ model where basic storage costs nothing but you can pay for extra space. Examples include Dropbox, SugarSync,
Box.com and the new Google Drive, which like most cloud products, works across numerous operating systems and devices. The other big IT corporations, Microsoft and Apple, have their own – SkyDrive and iCloud respectively – but with some limitations on how you can use them. The personal cloud is aimed at individual consumers but it also boosts small businesses. Versatile note-taking apps like Evernote are a boon to employees, as are services that sync contacts and calendars. Sharing documents securely between people with, say, Dropbox or Google Docs is an important asset in project collaboration.
Apple iCloud services 14 The Independent Electrical Retailer June 2012
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