Cloud computing is becoming increasingly popular. Businesses are starting to notice it’s a feasible way they can really save money on their IT. But many businesses are jumping on the bandwagon without fully researching this service first. Understanding the finer details of the cloud is the best place to start and making sure you fully understand the implications.

The majority of cloud computing companies are keen to show you all the benefits the cloud can bring to your business. For most businesses cloud computing will be very helpful but when it comes to understanding it a lot of the IT terminology has been lost in marketing terms. Many people associate cloud computing with SaaS, it is not software as a service. Software as a service is a specific piece of software that’s hosted for you at a remote location. The concept of cloud computing is more than the software being used or a single application so it’s not SaaS.

Many people associate cloud computing with server virtualization which is also not correct. Server virtualization is like a sub set of cloud computing as a whole. Cloud computing really addresses the complete process of taking all your data and running all your applications remotely. When you’re just looking at getting your servers hosted remotely this is the practice of server virtualization.

Many people assume cloud computing has something to do with Google. Google is the most dominant name associated with the Internet so when people think cloud and being online they tend to think about Google too. There are some similarities, for example Google has vast data centers to host, store and back up data remotely. This is where the similarities end as the processing and work behind Google is much more complicated and in depth than any cloud hosting a business would use.

Cloud computing will not be available to every business. You might be very restricted on how and where you can store your sensitive information within your business and these regulation might prohibit using cloud computing. You might be able to host some of your servers remotely but for the most part cloud computing wouldn’t be practical for this type of business.

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