Understanding “The Cloud”

The cloud everyone is paying attention to has moved from the sky to your pocket.  In the last two decades, cloud computing has become ubiquitous. It is the reason you can access your gmail from any device connected to the Internet.  It’s the reason Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media can show you information about users located all around the world, all the time. Students regularly use Google Drive (Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.) to work together on group projects.  And you may recognize iCloud and Dropbox–two simple cloud storage platforms where anyone can upload and save computer files if there’s no more space on their computer’s hard drive. Students at NEXIS and across the country are discovering and using the cloud’s capabilities as you read this.

The cloud is not just for personal use–it has become a powerful tool for organizations to store their data.  It reduces costs, it is easily scalable (just buy more cloud space), allows for business continuity in the event of a disaster, allows for efficient collaboration, and regular updates.  Cloud services commonly used at an organizational level include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Adobe Creative Cloud, IBM Cloud, Kubernetes, Cloud Foundry, and Microsoft Azure.

Like a cloud in the sky, the shape of the Internet’s global cloud network changes every day.  New cloud applications are constantly being developed across the world. These will allow for a more interconnected future as humans continue to expand the capacity for human knowledge storing and sharing.

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