"Cloud computing" is a term that has been thrown around frequently over the past few years, although few outside of IT circles really know what it is. However, like other once-fuzzy concepts that over time become part of our everyday lexicon (how many people really knew what the "information superhighway" would mean back in 1994, for example?), cloud computing is poised to play a key role in how we use computers, with companies such as Google and Microsoft putting more and more of their resources into cloud-based applications(1).
Essentially, cloud computing is a technology that allows users to maintain data and applications over the Internet without the installation of software(2). In many ways it's nothing new -- anyone who signed up for their first Hotmail account back in the '90s was using cloud technology even then. What's new is the scale and the extent to which remote servers will carry the confidential data of businesses and individuals. And today, with cash-strapped companies looking for ways to cut spending, plugging into the cloud has become an increasingly popular concept(3).
The issue of security -- particularly the risks involved in surrendering information to other parties -- is probably critics' biggest concern over cloud computing technology(3). Some advocates of open-source software, such as Richard Stallman, chairman of the Free Software Foundation and creator of the GNU computer operating system, argue that cloud computing will force users to buy into proprietary systems that will become more expensive over time(4). Others worry about the immediate concerns that would come into effect if a remote system were to lose customers' data(5).
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