Tired of having to store install disks, boxes, manuals and other stuff you never need after you install your software? Sick of paying for software and hardware updates just to keep “your” systems running?
Then cloud computing may be for you. A new(ish) breed of business hosts the software, your information and the servers it resides on, and all you need to access it is an Internet connection and the willingness to pay a monthly fee. Think of it as the difference between buying or leasing a car:
- without the repairs you still have to pay for even if you lease
- and upgrading your car every time a new model comes out
It’s software not as a product (the disks, manuals and packaging) but as a service (delivered to your computer via a web browser and an Internet connection).
Plenty of companies have arguments for and against the cloud. Check out the discussion in the articles listed below: