The Cloud? Enough Already. Just Tell Me What the Darn Thing Is!

Maybe instead of asking "Who has heard of the cloud?" I should ask "Who hasn't heard of the cloud?"

The problem seems to be no one know what it is. 

Microsoft, Google, Amazon and companies of the like of done a magnificent job of marketing that the cloud is important and that you need it, yet no one seems to know why.

Small business owners take heed, you will be moving a part or all of your business over to this magical cloud within the next 5 years. Heck, I could make a great argument on why you would even want to start doing this today. Who needs to deal with all that messy computer hardware, the annoying fan noise, the constant breakdowns and computer guys that never seem to show up when they say they will. Why not leverage a solution where I don't have to worry about all of that nonsense?

Because you are a small business, right? CORRECT??

Wait, nope it's not 2002 anymore so that excuse doesn't cut it. What started as centralized computing with the old-school mainframes in the 60's and 70's with the dumb terminals and green screens is "cool" again, labeled with a new name and even provided in vivid high definition!

The cloud is a place where your computer hardware, software, and services lives.  It's a place you pay someone else to worry about it. You pay someone else to make sure your backups are running and when your server or software has problems it just gets taken care of. It's a place where you as a small business owner, save money and most importantly get the peace of mind with your computer network that you have wanted for so long.

The cloud is not scary, but does have personality so know it before you trust it. The cloud is not a fad, but should be approached in measured steps. Lastly, you are using the cloud today and you probably don't realize it.

Now is the time to embrace, understand, and start planning how the cloud will help your business innovate.