In the past five years, tech news has been full of stories about “the cloud” and “cloud computing” but many people have no idea what that really is. Chances are, you’re already using it. If you use a web-based email service or image sharing service, your data is already “in the cloud.” Cloud services store your data elsewhere, freeing space on your device and allowing you to access that data from multiple devices, usually through a web-interface or an app.
Cloud services cover everything from storage (e.g. Dropbox) to productivity (e.g. Google Docs -- soon to be rolled into Google Drive), to finance (e.g. FreshBooks), to communications (e.g. Skype). Many of these services start free and scale to paid accounts with varying tiers depending on your needs.
I wrote the first draft of this post in Google Docs -- in the cloud -- and that’s where I’ll store it in case there’s ever a need to find a backup copy or repurpose it in another format. My Google Docs service is very well used and I am sure I will continue once it rolls over into Google Drive. I’ve been using Flickr (pro) for years to archive, serve, and sort my photos. I was an early adopter of 30-Boxes cloud calendar. Recently, I’ve started using Dropbox and Evernote to share and synchronize files and much more. I am a cloud service junkie!
As always, there are caveats.
- Back up. Either use the cloud as your backup or have a physical back up for critical files and data. While most cloud services are extremely robust, nothing is completely safe from the nasty side of the web (DDOS, hacking, and other compromises).
- Share with care. While many of these services allow you to share folders, consider limiting the access by sharing specific folder(s) with specific individual(s) rather than opening your root folders for shared access. The exception to this rule are businesses where partners should have shared access to all files.
- Know what you’re paying for. Be aware of any limits, caveats, and rules attached to your cloud account. Every service is different, especially when it comes to enterprise-level solutions. Read carefully and proceed accordingly so you don’t have to face being cut off from your data.
This article is one of a series of The A to Z of tech by Those DeWolfes Creative. Read the rest at ThoseDeWolfes.com