You have probably heard of the cloud before. Whether you’re reading a technology article or have opened your computer or apps and been notified about the cloud backup service it works with, you’ve probably interacted with it before.
However, the definitions for what the cloud is seem to be a little bit complicated. If you’re confused and looking for a simple explanation of the cloud, you’re in the right place.
We will define the cloud in simple terms and also explain the benefits, the consequences when it goes down, and how you use the cloud every day without even realizing it. Understanding the cloud is incredibly important when it comes time to repatform your applications, so read on to gain that understanding.
Defining the Cloud in Simple Terms
When broken down to its basics, the cloud is very easy to understand. The cloud refers to an external software storage system. Essentially, the cloud is a collection of hard drives managed by a third party.
These drives store everything you access online, from your favorite videos and podcasts to this very article. Everything you access on the internet is stored in the cloud. We use the cloud in many ways, from storage as we’ve just described to cloud computing.
Cloud computing occurs when there is no local server or computer to host the software you’re accessing. This system stores and manages every piece of data you interact with or create on the cloud. It may seem strange to consider, but it is commonly utilized for many reasons, a few of which we’ll cover in the next section.
Benefits of the Cloud
The cloud provides a vast number of benefits, but we’ll cover a few of the simplest ones here. The biggest benefit of the cloud is the ability for the information stored there to be accessed from almost any device, no matter where it is.
The only qualification is that the device in question must be powerful enough to run the application you’re accessing. This is why you can open the same site or app on your laptop at home, then do the same on a bus or in a cafe, and then again from your phone at work. Even on all these different devices, it looks and usually acts the exact same no matter which device or location you use.
Granted, there will be minor differences as you switch from a computer to a phone, but the basics will remain unaffected. Another benefit is the high performance you’ll gain. The cloud will operate all functions very quickly and will allow the same site or app to run as quickly and efficiently as possible on any device so long as the internet connection is strong.
Whether you open your favorite shopping app on your phone or computer, thanks to the cloud, it will load quickly and work perfectly no matter where you are.
Ways You Use the Cloud Without Even Realizing
In fact, the cloud is so beneficial that you use it multiple times every day without even realizing it. The biggest one is staring you in the face right now; this article is stored in the cloud. You likely don’t own the site or the server this article is hosted on, but you can read it anyway.
If you have an email, then this is another way in which you use the cloud. The same thing applies if you use social media, do some online shopping and so much more. Even services such as Netflix rely on the cloud to function.
To put this as simply as possible, if you do something on the internet, then you are accessing and benefiting from the cloud.
Consequences of Cloud Failure
While the cloud is a very beneficial thing, it comes with its own drawbacks. For example, the cloud will eventually go down for a bit just like everything else. Before you panic, though, consider that other things that you use every day can also go down, such as Wi-Fi and electricity.
The effects of cloud outages can be numerous and must be actively considered alongside the benefits to provide the clearest picture possible. When a cloud service goes down, you may be unable to access some sites or applications, but you will still be able to access others because data is saved and stored across many different servers.
For example, if YouTube and Gmail go down, then Google may have some cloud issues. While these services are down, others like Outlook email and Netflix are likely up and running just fine.
Maintaining Uptime, Even in The Event Of Errors
Most outages are minor and will be remedied quickly, so remaining patient and taking advantage of alternative services where possible is the best thing to do when this happens.
We hope this explanation has helped you better understand the cloud, how you use it, and what happens when it goes down. Heck, you may even know how to utilize it better yourself at the point, and we wish you luck in any of your future cloud-related ventures.
