Cloud computing, to put it concisely, enables users and organisations to store, retrieve, save and manipulate data and other resources on third-party servers and via the internet. Consider it analogous to the public electricity grid: Consumers pay for the service, without having to possess knowledge about the very complex infrastructure of how that electricity is delivered.
Pros
1. Cloud computing is especially beneficial to small businesses and organisations, taking a lot of the overhead and specialised computer knowledge of it—and letting another (trusted) party worry about aspects like the security, integrity, and availabitliy of the business’s data.
2. Without often costly and burdensome in-house servers, organisations can save substantially on costly items such as software upgrades and patches, hardware upgrades, and equipment maintenance.
3. Many cloud computing providers (‘hosts’) also provide sometimes-invaluable customer relations services, such as ‘pass through’ billing and even direct billing.
4. Most offer virtually unlimited scalability (the potential for business to grow), support VLANs (virtual local area networks), VPN, and comprehensive “dashboard” controls for immediate access to resources and data.Cons
1. Cloud customers inevitably have little or no control over the physical equipment their data is hosted on. For instance, in the event of a power outage at a data center (the location where data is physically stored), the client and his/her data is at the mercy of the hosting company AND its ability (or lack of, therein) to quickly restore operations.
2. If history is any indicator, performance (chiefly, the access time for clients or website users) may suffer if the business grows too rapidly and exceeds the capabilities of the hosting company’s servers—granted that there are usually hundreds or even thousands of other clients/sites that are running on the same servers and competing for the same bandwidth.
3. Very sensitive data—like trade secrets and information that’s controlled with regulations, such as HIPAA and PCI—is still one of the biggest concerns among organizations that host large volumes of highly confidential information. However, cloud security, like technology itself, is rapidly advancing.In Summary
The latter issue is surmountable with due diligence in looking for a cloud host, though. Industry experts say that it’s vital to choose one that is well-established, has a substantial, satisfied customer base, and offers local, automated backup services. Also, choose one that has a clearly-stated DRP (disaster recovery plan) and own their own servers (some hosts share servers with other organizations, sometimes creating conflicts of interest) on their premises.
Equally important is establishing an SLA (service level agreement) with the host. An SLA bounds the service provider to guarantee such things (all in writing) as a minimum, guaranteed speed (e.g. T1, T3, 4xT-1, and so forth), maximum response time to outages, pricing, and comprehensive rights-statement.
Google is known for being the number one search engine, but few people recognise the other benefits Google can offer users, especially business users. They offer a Google apps package specifically for business owners that include many comprehensive programmes for a very cheap monthly or yearly price. While not a full list of all the apps, some of the best include Google Sites, Google Cloud Connect, Business Gmail and Google Docs.
Google Sites is an easy-to-use website builder that can be used as a storefront, or it can serve as a back-end website to organize employees. The system is template based, so users do not need to know any HTML or CSS, they just have to click an element and it will be added to the website. Spreadsheets and other business documents can be easily added, which is a plus.
Google Cloud Connect works with the Microsoft Cloud system, allowing users to simultaneously edit documents. It also allows offline changes, and there is a revision history tool so users will know who touched the document last, if there are any problems with an edit. One of the best points is that there are no complex deployment procedures, it can be setup without any extra work.
Gmail is common known as a basic email program, but Gmail for business has quite a few extras. Users receive 25GB of data storage, which should be enough for even large businesses. It can also be synched with iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phones, making mobile business work very easy and convenient. There is also a powerful search feature, so users can quickly find emails, and the spam filter is stronger than with normal email accounts.
With Google Docs users get a range of office programs, but at a very inexpensive price. This includes a spreadsheet, text editor, drawing program and a program for presentations. Since Google Docs is a Web application, files can be easily shared and accessed by employees or associates. This also makes it easier to access the files if users frequently switch between computers.
The pricing for business Google apps is rather inexpensive, especially when compared to similar business app packages. If paying monthly, the fee is only €5, and the yearly fee is €40, saving €10 a year. There can be an unlimited number of users, and there are many benefits to getting a paid account. Google will be available for phone and email support, they have powerful SSL protection, there are APIs to customize programs and users get higher storage capacities than if using Google apps for free.
These apps will help organize a business’s online presence, will make it easier for workers to do their work and projects can be easily coordinated.
Google Cloud Connect works with the Microsoft Cloud system, allowing users to simultaneously edit documents. It also allows offline changes, and there is a revision history tool so users will know who touched the document last, if there are any problems with an edit. One of the best points is that there are no complex deployment procedures, it can be setup without any extra work.
Gmail is common known as a basic email program, but Gmail for business has quite a few extras. Users receive 25GB of data storage, which should be enough for even large businesses. It can also be synched with iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phones, making mobile business work very easy and convenient. There is also a powerful search feature, so users can quickly find emails, and the spam filter is stronger than with normal email accounts.
With Google Docs users get a range of office programs, but at a very inexpensive price. This includes a spreadsheet, text editor, drawing program and a program for presentations. Since Google Docs is a Web application, files can be easily shared and accessed by employees or associates. This also makes it easier to access the files if users frequently switch between computers.
The pricing for business Google apps is rather inexpensive, especially when compared to similar business app packages. If paying monthly, the fee is only €5, and the yearly fee is €40, saving €10 a year. There can be an unlimited number of users, and there are many benefits to getting a paid account. Google will be available for phone and email support, they have powerful SSL protection, there are APIs to customize programs and users get higher storage capacities than if using Google apps for free.
These apps will help organize a business’s online presence, will make it easier for workers to do their work and projects can be easily coordinated.
One of the most important things about owning a computer, whether for personal or for business reasons, is how to keep that computer clean. However (especially with Microsoft heavy computers), every company is out for a buck, and some of them simply do not have products that do the job. To keep you away from the losers, here is a list of the top 5 computer cleaning tools that are on the market today.
– Defraggler
Defraggler is simply just a better option than the Windows default defrag option. It takes up much less space and does the job much faster than Windows does. And unlike the default option that comes with Windows, you can pick and choose the files that you want to defrag. This makes the process a lot less painful.
– nCleaner
If there is ever a Swiss army knife of cleaning a computer, then this is it. Sometimes you just do not know exactly what you need to clean in your computer, and with nCleaner, that is ok. With this app, you can clean your entire system, tweak your settings, manage your startup files, and find the junk that you do not need on your computer. nCleaner can actually take the place of a number of programs. It is also much easier to use than the many programs that you were probably using. It has great default settings for those who do not really know what they are doing, and for those that do, you can really get down and dirty with your cleaning process. The program is also very clear with you about the changes that it is making on your computer, unlike many of the programs that love to talk in code that they seem to know that you can not understand.
– AVG Free
One of the most acclaimed free virus fighting software packages on the Internet, some tout it as the out and out best. No matter what anyone says, no one has ever said that it did not do the job. The protection is pretty basic, offering just antivirus and anti spyware stuff (no Internet monitoring), but you shouldn’t be visiting those crazy sites that you visit anyway, so that is your fault. On top of that, you don’t have anything to complain about – the program is completely free.
– Malware Bytes
Some antivirus programs, even the ones that purport to clean your entire hard drive, sometimes just pick up the viruses and completely miss the spyware/malware, which is sometimes even more damaging because it works in the background tracking you online and secretly providing information to the leak, unlike viruses, which tend to show themselves. Malware Bytes is one of the best spyware removal tools on the Internet today.
– Ccleaner
If your computer is still slow after downloading all of the above programs, then you might have some temporary files still on your computer. That is the specialty of this program, remove all your junk on your compute.
Use this to round out your protection efforts.
– DefragglerDefraggler is simply just a better option than the Windows default defrag option. It takes up much less space and does the job much faster than Windows does. And unlike the default option that comes with Windows, you can pick and choose the files that you want to defrag. This makes the process a lot less painful.
– nCleanerIf there is ever a Swiss army knife of cleaning a computer, then this is it. Sometimes you just do not know exactly what you need to clean in your computer, and with nCleaner, that is ok. With this app, you can clean your entire system, tweak your settings, manage your startup files, and find the junk that you do not need on your computer. nCleaner can actually take the place of a number of programs. It is also much easier to use than the many programs that you were probably using. It has great default settings for those who do not really know what they are doing, and for those that do, you can really get down and dirty with your cleaning process. The program is also very clear with you about the changes that it is making on your computer, unlike many of the programs that love to talk in code that they seem to know that you can not understand.
– AVG FreeOne of the most acclaimed free virus fighting software packages on the Internet, some tout it as the out and out best. No matter what anyone says, no one has ever said that it did not do the job. The protection is pretty basic, offering just antivirus and anti spyware stuff (no Internet monitoring), but you shouldn’t be visiting those crazy sites that you visit anyway, so that is your fault. On top of that, you don’t have anything to complain about – the program is completely free.
– Malware BytesSome antivirus programs, even the ones that purport to clean your entire hard drive, sometimes just pick up the viruses and completely miss the spyware/malware, which is sometimes even more damaging because it works in the background tracking you online and secretly providing information to the leak, unlike viruses, which tend to show themselves. Malware Bytes is one of the best spyware removal tools on the Internet today.
– CcleanerIf your computer is still slow after downloading all of the above programs, then you might have some temporary files still on your computer. That is the specialty of this program, remove all your junk on your compute.
Use this to round out your protection efforts.