Define the Cloud – In Business Te...

Define the Cloud – In Business Terms…

WHAT IS “THE CLOUD”

The Cloud can be defined in many different ways. The concept of “The Cloud” is a near infinite number of computers all around the planet providing information, and services to other computers and people.

That definition is a bit nebulous so I’d like to define it in a way that makes sense to businesses.  To do this I’ll break it down by types of services that business use day to day with a discussion of those same services offered in the cloud.

Businesses typically need the following computer services;

• Domain Services: Security control using Microsoft Active Directory for users to login and out of their computers.
• Network Services: These are under the cover services that keep your computers talking to each other such as; DNS, TCPIP, DHCP, VLAN’s VPN’s, etc.
• File and Print Sharing for storing and sharing documents across the network. An example of this service is your business PC having a mapped drive to a shared folder on a server on your network. There are three different types of sharing;
  • In House Sharing, my example in the above paragraph
  • Remote Sharing: Let’s say you’re at your house and want to view files and documents on your business network.
  • Any Device Sharing: Business is doing lots of work on their smart phones.  Having access to your business network significantly improves productivity.
• Server Application Services: Those applications that businesses use in their day to day operations
  • Financial Application such as QuickBooks
  • Email Services such as Microsoft Exchange or Synology Email Server
  • Specialized custom developed business applications
• Desktop Application Services: Those applications on everyone’s desktop to get their job done and keep their computers protected
  • Microsoft Office; Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Messenger Servicers; Lync, Slack, Team, etc.
• Network and PC Security Services
  • Intrusion Protection
  • Patch Management
  • Web Application Filtering Services
  • Antivirus,
  • Firewall Services
  • Email Filtering Services
  • Document and Email Retention Services
• Backup Services
  • Local Backups
  • Off-Site Backups
  • Cloud Backups

Today, most of these services are run locally at the business location.  In the future and today,  when does it make sense to migrate these services to a cloud service?