What Is The Cloud ?

What “The Cloud” Is and How to Use It

The term “the cloud” can be a little confusing when you first hear it. What is the cloud? What does it mean? Does it actually have anything to do with the weather? As you probably already know, cloud technology doesn’t have anything to do with the weather! It refers to the way that computers around the world share computing power and storage space with each other through the internet, so it’s not one physical space in a single location. It’s called “the cloud” because of the way that that users and computers connect over the internet, much like a thinking cloud bubble or a gathering of clouds in the sky.

What Is the Cloud?

The cloud isn’t any one place. It actually refers to the system of computers around the world that share computing and storage power. In fact, it’s not owned by a single company. Rather, many companies and organizations around the world have systems that make up the cloud. It also includes personal computers and devices like the ones you own.

While no single company owns the cloud, you may work with a single company for certain functions. For instance, if you need extra storage space, you might buy storage in the cloud from a particular company, such as Microsoft or Google. That just means they’re storing your data on their (very large) computers or servers so you don’t have to keep it on your computer, phone, or tablet.

How Can The Cloud Help Me? Outsourced Computing

When you think of “outsourcing,” you’re probably thinking about a call center in another country that answers customer service calls. That analogy actually isn’t a terrible one for the cloud. In this case, other computers do the work for yours so that you don’t need a high-powered computer with lots of space and computing power. For instance, shared software like Google Docs or Sheets is powered by large networks of computers, in this case, ones owned by Google. Those computers do the majority of the computing for you, then send the information back to your computer over the internet as you used their software or apps.

Outsourced Storage

As already noted, you can buy storage space on the cloud. In fact, many companies even allow a certain amount of storage for free, especially if you’re using other services they provide and pay for. For example, Amazon allows you to store unlimited photos in their cloud if you’re a Prime member.

However, storage isn’t just for documents and photos. One very common use of cloud storage is for music. You can store your music in the cloud and stream it to your device with many music services, including iTunes and Amazon Music. That way, you don’t have to take up room on your device for music, and you can use that storage for apps and other things you need.

The cloud may be impossible to locate on a map, but its usefulness is hard to deny. By allowing it to take care of things like hosting applications and software and providing extra storage or backup for your devices, you free up computing space on your own computer. Instead, the companies’ or organizations’ servers and computers do the heavy lifting for you. making it easier for you and your devices to get things done.