5 Ways You're Already Using the Cloud

If you run a Google search for "cloud computing," 173 million results with appear with various definitions, references and blogs.  Judging by the number of explanations and the variety of definitions online, cloud computing can be a difficult concept to understand. Perhaps the best way, though, is realizing that most of us are using cloud computing concepts every day and have been for some time.

1. Webmail

Using webmail applications like Yahoo and Gmail is a good demonstration of cloud computing. Webmail is  accessible from any machine, anywhere. This is made possible by the software which runs the application; these programs are held online. The files holding the individual messages are not on a computer but in the 'cloud'.


There are pros and cons.  Being online is the primary key to accessibility. If there is no internet, there is no way to work in the email application instead of a program like outlook.  As the digital age continues to expand, however, this is becoming less of a concern with internet accessibility practically anywhere from WiFi hotspots to mobile phones.

2. Google Docs

Google Docs and other collaboration tools allow files to be stored in a central location and the ability to share them with other users. Again, remote access is a major benefit to Google Docs; there is access to software such as a word processor and spreadsheet which doesn't need to be on a desktop . This is how cloud computing works.

3. Backup and File Storage Social Media

Utilizing online providers for backing up systems and storing copies of files is also using cloud computing. Instead having to remember to backup files or going through the expense of an automatic system, users can connect to a central provider of backup and storage services. As with the others, there are also pros and cons. However, one massive pro is that backing up data in the cloud is independent of your hardware. If the hardware fails (one of the main reasons to backup) the data is still safe in the cloud.

4. Social Media

The explosive popularity of social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook provide another demonstration of daily use of cloud computing. Public and private messaging, photo sharing, playing games, polling and access to a whole range of plug-in applications allow companies to develop their page. It's worth noticing one more benefit of cloud computing with social media.


Much of the usage of sites like Facebook and Twitter does not take place on a computer. Mobile phones, games machines and even televisions have Internet browsers and can access processing power, software and storage in the cloud.

5. Online Photo and Video Sharing

Websites such as Flickr, Vimeo and YouTube allow users to upload and share photos and videos. YouTube alone gets more than 2 billion views per day. That's about double the prime-time audience of all three major US television networks combined.


While Cloud Computing can be difficult to define, these examples can provide simple demonstrations to show that the cloud is being utilized in everyday online activity.  While remote access, scalability and other benefits can improve our daily lives, more and more businesses are migrating to the cloud to take even more advantages of the cloud to improve and expand.


If your company is interested in a free network assessment to see how you can directly benefit from IS Support's cloud services, we would love to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-370-7142, send us an e-mail or visit our website!

Top Ten Benefits of the Cloud: #1 - Reduced Costs

When analyzing cloud computing for your business IT solutions, one of the most important reasons the cloud can help is to reduce IT expenses.

Cloud computing reduces your hardware (computers, software, downloaded programs), networking management and overall IT expenses.  To go more in depth, here is a brief, yet detailed summary of other ways directly reduces costs:

1. Pay only for what you use – IS Support's Cloud Cumulus solution operates on a pay-as-you-use model, or in different terms, a demand-only model. With IS Cumulus, you only pay for the services you require and use. This works out to be much cheaper than acquiring barely used equipment.



2. Running costs – In addition to usage, running costs comprise a significant portion of the annual IT budget. By shifting to cloud computing, your company is free of those expenses such as upgrades, physical maintenance, personnel salaries, etc.

3. Economies of scale – Cloud computing can utilize economies of scale to offer cheaper rates to your business. In other words, the service providers can buy IT equipment in bulk to lower unit acquisition costs, and part of the cost savings are passed on to their consumers. Consequently, this price is much lower than what you would pay to buy similar equipment from the retail market

4. Investment costs vs Operational costs - Acquiring expensive equipment is considered a capital expenditure, which can be costly. As the equipment ages, this acquisition depreciates over time. With cloud computing, a one-time expense is spread across several operational cycles, becoming part of operational costs providing a much better alternative. Factor in the time value of money, and the balance shifts even more towards cloud computing.

If you would like to learn more, or find out exactly how our IS Cumulus solution can provide your company all of the above benefits and more, contact us for a free consulting session!

Stay tuned for the next part of Cloud Computing benefits: Scalability

Top Ten Benefits of the Cloud!

Some IT Professionals will often talk about how cloud computing can help your business without getting very specific on exactly "how."  Well, we would like to change that.  In this upcoming blog series, we at IS Support have listed our ten favorite ways that Small-Medium sized businesses utilize the cloud.  We have listed them below (in no particular order)

1. Reduced Costs
2. Scalability
3. Disaster Recovery
4. Remote Access
5. Fast Response Time
6. Automatic Updates
7. Implementation
8. Level Playing Field
9. Mobility
10. Experienced Vendor

For the next ten blog posts, we will take each one above and briefly summarize it and how it can effect your business and help you evolve with technology to take your company to the next level. 

Stay tuned and in the meantime, check out our website...we'd be happy to put you on "the cloud!"

WILL CLOUD COMPUTING FIRMS EVER CONSOLIDATE?

It's a possibility. In a recent CloudTweaks blog by Sourya Biswas, the idea that some of the larger companies such as HP may entertain the option of acquiring smaller successful cloud computing firms to gain market share is a not too distant reality. Their new CEO believes HP's future lies in the cloud and has been quoted saying, "Everything that we do in the future will be delivered as a service." Salesforce.com has already acquired four companies in the last four months. It's inevitable - large-scale consolidation will most likely happen in the future.

IS Support, established in 2002, has experienced this growth in their cloud offering as well. CEO Steve Combs commented, "Demand for cloud service is growing rapidly. We're pleased to see the recent interest from our clients to convert to the cloud. Although we'll continue to offer other products and services such as TeleCom and Software & Hardware, cloud computing is the next big thing."

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Click here to view the CloudTweaks article.