Do you know what all the fuss is about ‘cloud computing’?

The term ‘cloud computing’ might sound intimidating but its really very simple. Instead of storing your files on a server in your office, your files are basically stored on secure servers, and replicated across multiple data centers (special secure buildings with what is essentially hundreds of servers). This is not to be confused with shady remote backup solutions, which are often full of hidden costs and not at all secure.

There are so many benefits including:

• Ease of sharing and collaboration
• Simplicity of remote access
• Lower licensing and hardware costs
• Scalability – you don’t have to plan your storage needs with the next 3 years in mind, just upgrade when you run out
• Data protection and security – important files can be stored behind high grade firewalls which the average business cannot afford

But it can be very hard to convince businesses to move to the cloud. Many people find it abstract and intangible to ‘save to the web’.

I really think the fact that Facebook is so mainstream (in Australia, upwards of 70% of internet users are on Facebook regularly) is helping change the way people think about data backup, storage and sharing. So many people now say they have ‘backed up’ their photos to Facebook or flickr. And they will all happily tell you that they love the fact their friends and family can comment and leave feedback!

Hopefully, business managers will soon see the business applications of cloud computing and it will become a bit more mainstream. From a data standpoint, cloud computing could almost make the data recovery industry redundant.