Sailing is the art of moving a boat by harnessing the power of wind. Mastery over ever-changing conditions requires both great skill and experience. So just how does Olympic sailing relate to cloud computing? Well, maybe not at all, but then again... When determining the best cloud-based solutions for your business, you should ask a lot of questions just as you do when you're preparing to go sailing.
The first question to ask is: Where do you want to go? Or perhaps even more appropriately: What do you want to do? In Olympic sailing, the competitors are given a course that they must follow and everyone is racing around at the same time with the simple goal of winning. In business, everyone is "racing" with the simple goal of successfully providing services or products to their clients. In today's mobile environment, one of the most common goals is to easily share files from anywhere, with any device, potentially with anyone. Now, there are many more answers about how to effectively leverage cloud computing of course, but for today, we're going to limit the remainder of this article to a review of basic cloud storage.
Next, in evaluating how to best make it around the course, the Olympic sailors must decide what sails to put up. This is akin to selecting a cloud storage provider. In the Olympics, the boats are equally-matched. In cloud storage, not all things are created equal. Some of the competitors include Apple's iCloud, Microsoft's SkyDrive, Google's Drive, Dropbox, SugarSync and the list goes on and on.
When evaluating these competitors, one must take into account a variety of variables including:
The amount of storage requiredThe platform from which it will be accessed (e.g., Windows, Mac, Web, remote access, etc.)How it will be accessed (e.g., desktop, laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc.)Does it support working together online (including online viewing and editing, online individual or simultaneously, and version tracking)?Does it include simple and secure file sharing?All the competitors have the ability to sync common files such as music and photos. If you want to extend this to business data, choose wisely. For example, Apple's iCloud is great if you have a Mac-only environment-in particular it only syncs iWorks files unless you have a third-party app of some type. iCloud can also sync your email, contacts, and calendars but be careful about mixing it with a Microsoft Exchange environment.
Both Microsoft's SkyDrive and Google's Drive are more generic and function more like a traditional drive that users are accustomed to. Dropbox and SugarSync work in a similar manner and all have been directly integrated into a variety of mobile apps and Windows/Mac computer clients to make it very easy for everyone to use.
Microsoft's Live Id, Live Mesh and SkyDrive are tightly integrated into the upcoming Windows 8 release but that shouldn't stop you from making use of any of these now. They have been around for many years but are only getting serious attention now that cloud computing and tablets have darted into the forefront. In particular with Windows Live ID, Windows 8 will be able to sync settings, language preferences, web browser settings, and more. There will be some nice security features including a "my friend's been hacked" type feature to change your account to a "compromised state" until you are able to re-authenticate using the two factor secondary proofs that you set up in advance.
As the winds of cloud computing pick up, it will be interesting to watch, learn and benefit as the competitors incorporate a variety of different sailing angles-upwind, downwind and reaching-to move ahead and potentially win.
Are your sails luffing in confusion? Perhaps you've run aground with cloud computing?
IT Radix urges that now's the time to set your sails for smooth sailing into cloud computing.
As a seasoned IT professional and business owner at IT Radix, Cathy Coloff enjoys working with small-to-medium sized businesses on getting the most out of their technology dollars. Technology is serious business, but she likes to have fun making I.T. work for you.
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