More on Cloud Computing and File Backup

 
A recent – and apparently irreparable – crash of my Microsoft Outlook got me thinking about cloud computing and backing up files, again.

So, I went online and located a web-based calendar program with every intention of using it to replace Outlook. But, I couldn’t do it. As I began entering personal information into the program, I realized that – even though I know it’s protected – I didn’t want that stuff just floating around in cyberspace.

I know it’s irrational, but it’s not the first time I’ve been accused of that. I bought a paper calendar and am now using it instead.

All this led to a slightly different approach to using the Internet to run your business. Perhaps, if you’re irrationally paranoid, like me, you’re better off installing the programs you need on your computer and storing your files in a safe place online, instead of just being “out there” in cyberspace. Your files are always backed up and you have access to them from wherever you are.

There are many options for regular online file back up and I should mention now that I haven’t signed up for any of them – yet – so can’t make any specific recommendations. Here are a few that I researched:

Mozy (www.mozy.com) offers 2 GB free and unlimited back up starting at $4.34 a month.

Norton – from Symantec – (www.symantec.com/norton/) offers 25 GB for $49.99 a year.

Mediamax (www.mediamax.com) has an interesting twist, adding a sharing and collaboration option. This addresses one of my concerns, easily accessing, using, and updating files stored online, which essentially uses your online backup like another hard drive.

Filesanywhere (www.filesanywhere.com) is a little pricier, with cost is based on storage size. It also has file sharing options as well as backup.

Long story short, online file backup is easy and inexpensive, so do it. With a little research, you may also be able to use a modified version of cloud computing, keeping the more robust software you now have, and still have easy access to all your documents from wherever you are.

Can You Run a Successful Business from Anywhere?

 
My friends at AOL – which currently handles my email needs – linked me to an article by Tom Samiljan for Switched titled “Which Netbook is Right for You?”

Note the subtle difference: this n-e-t book, not n-o-t-e book, and may be the precursor of yet another new computing trend.

If you’ve been around long enough, you probably remember the early days of computers. My first one was a Macintosh with the nine inch screen and no hard drive. You loaded the software onto the computer from one floppy (remember those!?!?) and then saved it to a second floppy.

My first corporate experience was a dumb terminal linked to the company’s AS400 which ran DOS and handled all the storage and computing requirements. Then came the PC revolution and companies made fortunes creating hardware and software for our desktops and then our laptops.

However, it appears we may be coming full-circle, or more precisely, spiralling rapidly upward. If you take the computing power of that old AS400 and multiply it by about a gazillion, you have a fraction of the computing power of the Internet. When you combine that power with a n-e-t book or even a Blackberry or iPhone, the potential is almost limitless.

There’s just one piece missing from the equation: the software – and I don’t mean little applications for your iPhone - but even that is now available. No longer must we be slaves to Microsoft Office and our desktops! Welcome to the world of cloud computing.

Wikipedia provides this overview of cloud computing:

“Cloud computing is Internet (“cloud”) based development and use of computer technology (“computing”). It is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supports them.

“The concept incorporates infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service(PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) as well as Web 2.0 and other recent (ca. 2007–2009) technology trends which have the common theme of reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. Examples of SaaS vendors include Salesforce.com and Google Apps which provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.

“The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on how the Internet is depicted in computer network diagrams, and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals.”

Essentially, you can now access unlimited computing power and information, using software residing on an enormous virtual server (maintained and paid for by someone else!), and promote and sell goods and services without ever setting foot in an office. Depending on your specific business requirements, you could be able to do all your work from a tiny netbook anywhere that you have Internet access. Anyone else up for a trip to Hawaii?

Of course, if you work on projects requiring complex or specialized software, a large monitor, or lots of computing power, you’ll still be tied to a desk, but with an online business, you could probably do 80% of your work on a tiny netbook from wherever you happen to be.