Is it time for you to move to the cloud? 6 pros and 9 cons

Is it time for you to move to the cloud? 6 pros and 9 cons

While we have yet to see a major shift by larger companies to cloud computing, we do see more acceptance by smaller companies to move their computing environments to the cloud. With the growth of mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, the movement of data and computing resources to the cloud looks like it’s only going to continue.

Advantages of Cloud Computing

  • Inexpensive: Thin client or network computers that is used in a cloud computing environment is generally less expensive than fully loaded PC.cloud_img
  • Green: With a low-power chip and flash memory, thin client or a network computer use less power than fully loaded PCs with optical drive or hard drive.
  • Easy to maintain: Because there are no optical drive or hard drive also means fewer moving parts, which means thin client or network computer is easier and less expensive to maintain.
Going Digital: The Paperless Office Isn’t a Pipedream

Perhaps you saw the recent New York Times article about airline pilots replacing bulky, printed in-cockpit flight manuals with digital versions on iPads. It makes great sense—the digital version weighs a fraction of the 40lb. paper version, receives updates in real-time, and is easily searchable. In the early- and mid-90s, when PCs were revolutionizing the way many businesses operated, the so-called “paperless office” held the promise of eliminating the reams and reams of paper that clogged file cabinets and inboxes in offices and required careful organization and storage to keep track of everything.

The reality was much different, however. Computer crashes, software glitches, and even the occasional server-room fire necessitated maintaining hard copies of just about everything as a backup.

Are you doing everything that you should to protect yourself from malware? (or, How to catch a virus)

Recently, it seems that there have been a lot of incidents in the news about major corporations who have been hacked into or exposed customer data to outsiders.  You might well ask “If Apple or Sony can’t keep their systems safe with all their resources, how can I protect my business?”  Fortunately, you probably don’t have elite hackers trying to break into your systems for the challenge, but the dangers are there, regardless.

Antivirus Programs 

Everybody knows about antivirus programs.  Yet, astonishingly, I still run across business computers that do not have a valid up-to-date antivirus program installed.