Is Cloud hype its own worst enemy?

The Internet is 35 years old. That is older than most of our staff here at Bespoke Computing!

Like any technology its use is always evolving, and in the last couple of years you will have been bombarded by the word Cloud. A technology that has still to reach maturity, there are many definitions floating around to what the word actually means.

There is a lot of hype and, by association, a lot of ‘buzzwords’ around the Cloud, which in our opinion and that of this author, only serves to make it seem more complicated and confusing than it is.

To put it in simple terms, the concept of the Cloud itself is nothing new and it is simply extending your own local technology to use the computer resources available via the Internet. And for the 35 years that there has been the Internet, technology has been operated and made accessible via the Internet from anywhere in the world.

Cloud is just technology being used in a new way, allowing businesses and consumers with good enough Internet access to run their affairs using computer systems that are online. These systems still run on computers and servers some place, it is just more likely to be in a large data centre in London or abroad than your office.

So by definition this means that most businesses are already using the Cloud, some of them without even realising it.  Not convinced? Where is your email running from, what about your website?

The extent to which your business adopts the Cloud is your decision, however it is important to understand early on that like any other technology it may not be right for every business. The Cloud will naturally work for some businesses, but also for others it may not.

You need to look carefully at your business, and aspects such as the size of your team, what business applications you use, and where you are based are three of many that you need to weigh up.

As we have said before, using Cloud based technology does not mean that you can neglect your responsibilities for backing up your technology systems or your business. The location of your information is irrelevant when it comes to your legal obligation to protect the data that your business holds.

The right person to advise you on the suitability of Cloud for your business and your technology strategy is your IT partner. Some of our clients here at Bespoke Computing Ltd use the Cloud and others do not, all having asked us for advice on whether it was best for them.

If you are looking to move your business to the Cloud and need impartial advice or a second opinion, call us on 01952 303404.