Cloud Storage 101: Learning the Basics

Cloud computing is one of the most discussed and argued topic in the business world. It has been executing many operations for individuals and businesses since years. Surprisingly, many users are not aware on many occasions when Cloud computing serves them. Many internet associated applications such as emails, social networks, etc. all are form of Cloud computing.

What is Cloud Storage?

A typical computer machine can be divided into input, output, processing and storage units. Conventionally, all these units are arranged close to each other and connected directly with cables. Since the user interacts with a computer via input and output units, the processing and storage units can be located separately and connected using a widespread network. This is the idea of Cloud computing, where this ‘separate location’ is termed as the Cloud. Cloud computing is simply a modern computing technology in which the processing and storage tasks can take place over a network. And, storing the data on the Cloud is known as Cloud storage.

Applications of Cloud Storage

The higher philosophies of the Cloud computing will talk about Software-as-a-service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), or Business Process-as-a-Service (BPaaS) among its applications. For those who are not much into these terms, Cloud computing can be interpreted as virtual CPU. So, the applications of the Cloud will remain more or less the same as that of CPU.

Most of the limitations that exist with the physical computer setup, such as fixed memory and storage space, are not part Cloud based solutions. The Cloud is able to offer the same file storage service in a brand new format. For example, a picture that you upload on your Facebook account is simply storing it on another location that you can view, download or delete anytime.

Additionally, you can securely access it from various devices and you are able to tag friends on it, your friends can like, share, post comments, and do a lot more on the same picture. In this very ordinary example of Cloud storage, one can find the cross-device compatibility and multi-user access on the same stored file. Similarly, Cloud computing can add multiple layers to a simple application to give life for SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, and BPaaS.

Good, Bad and Security of the Cloud Storage

Cloud storage offers a number of advantages over the local computing mediums. Device independence, multi-user collaboration, lesser hardware needs, and affordability are among the major gains that Cloud storage offers. On the other side, network dependency of the Cloud comes with certain disadvantages as well. The possibility of cyber-attacks and downtime errors can be counted among the major threats on the Cloud.

When data is located on storage premises that belong to someone else, the questions over security are bound to rise. Be it an enterprise or an individual user, data security is always rated as the prime concern. And fortunately, Cloud storage has moved for the better since its early days. End-to-end encryption is now the most commonly practiced technology for the Cloud security. It converts the stored data into a format that is not legible to human and cannot be converted to the original format without the proper decrypting process which is available only at the user’s end. So, the security has now to be concentrated at the user end, just similar to the case of local computing methods. That makes Cloud a pretty well secured place to store.

Conclusion:

The potential of Cloud storage is hardly doubted. There are some minor slip-ups in Cloud storage that are eminent with almost every other technology. Being affordable without asking for a certain physical hardware, this comes as a wonderful computing option for the businesses as well individual users. Most users are partially using Cloud storage in one way or other and there seems no good reason for which one should not adopt it completely.

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