You may or may not have heard of THE CLOUD.  What is it?  Where did it come from and will it rain on me?  Well I can answer all of these questions for you.  The cloud is not so much of a WHAT but many what’s.  The term Cloud can consist of anything like online applications, web applications, and custom hosted applications. For example, your website is in the Cloud.  Your desktop is not.  If you use any sort of online applications like Gmail, Google Apps, or Facebook these are all applications that sit on the Cloud.  Applications you say?  I thought they were just websites?  Well welcome to the confusion of the Cloud.  The Cloud is the internet.  Many content developers are trying to figure out ways they can get content to the user without any middle man.  Think of it like the music business when the iPod came out.  Before you used to go to the record store and buy your CDs.  Now you can go to someone like Apple and get your music.  It is just a new form of distribution.

Many of the IT companies are trying to figure out how they fit into the Cloud.  This is no different in any transition in technology.  As technologies change, so does the delivery method.  So what’s the good and bad?  Well you are going to have to find that one out on your own.  I will say this about the Cloud.  The more dependent you or your company becomes on the Cloud then the better or faster your internet connection will need to be.

Oh wait I almost forgot about the last question.  Will the Cloud rain on me?  The answer is it depends!  Here is why.  Do your research.  In the Cloud, if your internet connection goes out you usually loose access to your application. Most of the time, folks don’t know where their data sits.  Is this important to you to know where your data is?  If not, then go check the Cloud out.  If so, then ask your Cloud vendor.