Technology has changed how the world works, how we live, and how we do business. One of the newly embraced technologies is cloud storage. This storage allows you to upload and back up your files to an internet-hosted storage system. Many people have seen the cloud’s benefits and begun using it to increase productivity and security.
There are many more reasons cloud storage is a technology to watch, though, and why more and more information is being entrusted to the cloud.
- Cloud storage is very cost-effective. Backing up your system to removable hard drives and other such hardware can get expensive, and the costs only balloon with every extra gigabyte you need to store. The hard drives also have a life span and can become outdated. Cloud storage will last as long as the internet and can change and evolve with other technology.
- Cloud storage allows for group collaboration on a single document or project. These people can even be located a world away from each other, but thanks to cloud storage, the document is easily accessible by all those who need it. This is good news for people who have planned a trip but had an unplanned project come up last minute.
- Accessibility is another of the cloud’s finer points. Data stored in the cloud can be accessed on your cell phone, laptop, and virtually any other device with web capabilities. This means that everything you need is available at the push of a button, exactly when you need it.
- The cloud offers security. With encryption, password protection, access verification, and event logging, the cloud is quickly becoming one of the safest and most secure ways to store documents or backup systems.
More and more technology is backing up and connecting with cloud storage to make life easier and more interconnected.
It also offers superior disaster recovery, whether that disaster was a corporation-wide system crash or a cell phone meets toilet. In the case of a business, time spent with a downed system is money lost.
Backing up business technology to dedicated servers minimizes the amount of time spent flailing after a crash. In the case of a cell phone, contacts and other selected information can be backed up to storage and are easily recovered if you need to replace your phone.
Another great example of a technology shift to favoring the cloud is Google Chrome, or virtual home, as this author has affectionately dubbed it. Once you sign into Chrome, on any computer, anywhere in the world, you can access your bookmarks, history, apps, etc. It allows for many extensions and add-ons, such as Google drive. This is a full-service “suite” that retains all your user settings. (Now, if only the Google Drive word processor were good enough to be stand-alone–ahem) If you get a new computer, download Chrome, sign in, and it will synchronize your account…gone are the days of tiredly trying to re-bookmark everything on a new computer.
The linkage between cloud storage and remote databases and the technology that drives daily life will continue to evolve and grow. There is no way to tell what the next level will bring, but one thing’s for sure, it will be great.