subject: Everyone Uses Cloud Applications But Few Know The Term [print this page] Cloud computing applications are programs that run on the Internet on large networks and not on your computer. Access to the cloud applications is through a web browser. Although cloud computing may sound new to you, anyone who uses the internet has encountered it more and more. Do you use Google Docs, maybe you use Microsoft Office Web Edition, or maybe you do online banking. Maybe you use EBay, YouTube Amazon, Face book, Yahoo, or Ail. If you do, then you are actively using cloud applications. Increasingly, companies are also running their businesses on the Cloud. Some businesses want to have reliability and security without hiring a full-time I.T. employee.
Office Application suites are hands down the most popular variant of the cloud applications on the marketplace. The best part about is that the two best versions are free. In the past, one had to pay for Microsoft Office to be able to access standardized business documents in the formats that everyone was using. Today, these formats remain but one can use one of two major services for free with them. Google Docs offers full featured word processing, spreadsheet software, and presentation software. They offer secure email archiving and powerful webmaster tools as well. Microsoft offers their Microsoft Office for free online to users of Hotmail. Sign up for a free account if you do not already have one and stop paying for Microsoft Office. Many users in business still prefer the convenience of having the desktop installation of Microsoft Office, but even these people are saving their documents to the Cloud, so that they can get their documents from any computer.
In the past, people had to endure challenges to keep copies of documents where they were needed. People had files on their home computers, and files on their work computers, and some had files on their notebook computers as well. An important sales presentation should be on a notebook computer to show at the office of the client, but if one left the presentation saved to the office computer and did not bring a disk, then one would be out of luck and facing either travel to retrieve the document or a lost sales opportunity. And if your work computer, home computer, or laptop was to break down, then the data would also be unavailable when needed. Today, you can save your documents on the cloud from your laptop. The sales presentation, finished in the public park on a nice bench while having lunch, has been saved to the cloud. Then you trip and drop your notebook computer into the duck pond. At least the sales presentation is safe. With a new notebook computer, you immediately have access to your sales presentation. This is one reason why storing your vital documents on the Cloud can mean the difference between success and failure in today?s world.
Communication has changed because of cloud computing as well. Offices of the same country in different locations can share information using cloud applications on the Internet rather than having to pay extravagant monthly charges for a leased line to each location and the hardware to run it. The same internet connection is also lowering company?s telephone bills by using cloud applications for voice over IP telecommunications (VoIP). This technology lets companies buy their telephone usage a la carte by bandwidth, and long distance charges and other variables are a thing of the past. Large companies are also using enterprise resource planning, or ERP, to run more efficient businesses and make better decisions. By linking together systems across sales, fulfillment, accounting, supply chain, customer relationship management, and email, companies can achieve two goals. They can eliminate duplication of effort by different people, workgroups, and departments, and they can have real time data for decision making.
If you would like to communicate with your friends, family, or work associates, cloud apps can handle all of your communication needs. Computer users can now create streamlined work areas online for brainstorming, instant chat, and data comparison. If you are away from your office, but you need to have a meeting with your employees or colleagues, you can easily do so by taking advantage of the cloud computing apps that are now coming to the marketplace.
Schools are now being revolutionized by cloud computing capabilities as well. Schools that used to rely heavily on first person interactions are now capable of interacting entirely within virtual cyberspace. Specially designed cloud applications can be used to help parents communicate with teachers. These apps can also be used to keep track of student grades too.
It does not matter whether you are a home user creating and storing documents and interacting with friends, or if you are a corporate giant: cloud applications are now a part of your world, and the benefits are best realized by understanding the topics.
