Cloud Computing - Part 4 - Where are we now?

You'll be surprised fo find out how much you're already using cloud computing services!

This blog is a perfect example. Google owns Blogger (the tool I used to create this blog) and provides it free of charge. I don't know where the Blogger server(s) are located, I didn't have to install anything, I don't have to do any upgrades or backups or maintenance. The service is provided to be over the Internet and I just use it. That's the essence of cloud computing!

Other examples? There are so many... web-based e-mail services such as Hotmail, Yahoo and G-Mail are cloud-based applications. The Google search tool itself is another prime example. In each of those cases, those are services available to you from somewhere "in the cloud". You don't have to manage, monitor, secure, upgrade, or install them. They are just there for you to use.

Not all Internet cloud services are free. In fact, most probably won't be. Salesforce.com is a prime example of a cloud service. They provide a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system in the cloud. Check them out at http://www.salesforce.com/.

Some of you may have used Quicktax online to do your income taxes this year (http://www.quicktax.ca/). It's an execllent example of a Internet cloud service. The tool that we use to monitor your systems is also a cloud-based application.

Microsoft is also getting into the game in a big way. They now offer what they are calling their "Business Productivity Online Suite" which includes Exchange, Sharepoint, Office Communication, and Office Live. What's that mean? It's not free but it means you can deploy and use some of these tools on a monthly subscription basis without having to buy and implement the servers to house them internally. I'll talk more about this in a future blog because there is so much there it deserves its own blog post.

Also, Microsoft, whose Office application is the poster-child for the old way of doing things, has recently announced the next version of Office 2010. That's not news but what is exciting is that there will be a FREE version of Office available to anyone to use online. So, even Microsoft Office will be in the cloud! How cool is that? How much money is that going to save you in Office licensing?

To wrap up... cloud computing is already here and you're already using it for many things. But, we're barely scratching the surface. Stay tuned for more information on where we go from here. As always, I welcome your comments!