Cloud computing is one of the hot “buzz words” of the moment, and in actuality its been around for a while, but what is it?

Wikipedia defines it as

Cloud Computing is the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources as a service over the Internet on a utility basis.

Many of the applications using cloud computing are free such as  Google Docs for document, spreadsheet, and presentations, Mint for tracking finances,  Microsoft’s SkyDrive Live for storing files online, and many more. The idea behind this is the ability to access your documents, data, and files, from any computer or device that has an internet connection at any time from anywhere.  Forgot a document at the office? Access it at home.  At the doctor’s office and forgot your list of prescriptions? Access it on your phone.  The possibilities are endless. All of the major software companies are moving towards cloud computing with Google seemingly leading the pack with new applications having just launched Google Wave into beta test as well as a rumored audio service that may be called Google Audio.

Many businesses also use cloud computing to conduct their day to day business and support their employees in remote locations and in the field.  Salesforce.com is a major player in the Customer Relationship Management space providing sales teams with tools in the field.

Advantages/Disadvantages

The list of advantages and disadvantages is too long to go into detail in this overview of cloud computing, but here’s a summary.

One of the major advantages of cloud computing is the infrastructure on which it runs. Cloud computing often involves virtualization which allows the same application to expand and run on multiple servers as the need arises.  As clouds in the expand and contract, so can your application. Automatically!  Several months ago, I spoke to a web development and advertising company that services auto dealers. They mentioned that when the “Cash For Clunkers”  program was extended, their website was overwhelmed with people trying to get in on the last minute deals, and the website went down on a weekend, which is typically one of the busiest times for auto dealers.  Their web hosting plan didn’t have enough bandwidth to handle the load, and the server crashed. The dealers were not happy to say the least.  For mission critical applications such as this, the situation may have been avoided by putting the application on the cloud.

Other advantage include features, cost savings, accessibility,  and scalability.

Disadvantages include the need for internet access,  speed, service outages, and bugs in application (just one copy of it instead of indivualy loaded on each computer).

Summary

Is cloud computing a good fit for every business? Not in my opinion. It all depends on the size of your business, anticipated traffic levels vs. available bandwidth, costs, and requirements. Cloud computing is dependent on the internet connection being up and available as the applications run on the internet instead of the local desktop. If you have a reliable internet connection,cloud computing is definitely worth looking into.