Cloud storage is a computing model that stores data on a remote server that is accessed by the internet. They are typically maintained and operated by a cloud storage service provider, where the servers are built and hosted. To put it in simple terms cloud storage is a place for people to store their data in order to make it easy accessible across all of your devices. This makes it so that no matter where you are or what you are using you can access the files you need to.
The History of cloud storage?
The overarching concept of delivering computing resources through a global network is rooted in the 1960's. The whole idea of Intergalactic
Licklider was responsible for enabling the development of Advance Research Projects Agency Network(ARPNET) in 1969. Until Web 2.0 was brought into the picture not much was done with cloud computing. Another factor was the internet didn’t start to offer significant bandwidth til the 1990’s making cloud computing for the masses something that is a recent development.
A site called Salesforce.com was one of the first major milestones in cloud computing history. This site pioneered the concept of delivering enterprise applications via a simple website. This paved the path for both specialists as well as mainstream software firms to deliver applications via the internet. Amazon Web services was the next big step. They provided a suite of cloud-based services that included storage, computation and even human intelligence via the Amazon Mechanical Turk. This was followed by Amazon launching their Elastic Compute Cloud as a commercial web service allowing small companies/individuals to rent computers on which they could run their own computer applications. The next milestone was in 2009 when Web 2.0 was really coming into play and more companies like Google started to offer browser based enterprise applications like Google Apps. Leading into a major contribution of cloud computing which is Apps that we use on our phones and other devices. When major companies like Google and Microsoft started rolling them out and showing people how reliable and easy it was the acceptance of online services boomed.
What platforms are out there?
There is a wide array of providers of cloud storage. Some of the major players are IDrive, Microsoft OneDrive, GoogleDrive, SugarSync, Icloud, Box and DropBox. Each provider has their own thing to offer it is a matter of preference and needs. Some offer large amount of storage for super cheap while others may charge more but have higher security. It is up to you as the user to decide what is best for you. What fits into your budget and meets your needs to the best extent.
Types of Cloud Storage
There are two major types of cloud storage there is private and there is public. The personal cloud is the collection of digital content and services that are accessible from any device. It is typically not a tangible entity. It’s a place that gives users the capability to store, sync, stream and share content on a relative core. It gives them the ability to move from one platform to another and from one location to another, It is created with connected services and applications. There are four basic types of personal clouds. They include Online Cloud(LINK), NAS Device cloud(LINK), server device cloud(LINK), and home made clouds(LINK). A benefit of a personal cloud is the user has complete control of their data.
The public cloud storage is typically a pay for use. These are provided by large companies who offer you a piece of their storage typically for a monthly or yearly fee. Prices are usually based on the amount of Gigabytes needed for storage. These are often used to back up data as part of a disaster recovery plan. These are also used to archive emails and static non-core application data. A major advantage of using a public cloud is that the provider does all the work of building and maintaining the storage infrastructure and they deal with all the costs including power, cooling and server maintenance while the consumer only pays for the resources being used.
Security of cloud storage
One of the major concerns of cloud storage is the security of it. While accessing your data anywhere at anytime is a major convenience, many worry about how safe their data is when it is stored in the internet. Data stored on clouds typically lie outside the limits of many safe guards that are used to protect sensitive data. Meaning enterprises have to step up their game on security and take extra measures to keeps this data safe. Many of the implemented securities start with the basics protections such as authentication, access control and encryption. Many enterprises add additional security to these. Things like monitored downloads, event logs, encryption, alerts, reports and policies all help in protecting data stored by cloud services. When it all comes down to it the biggest risk in security is the human factor. People need to be properly trained on what is ok use and what is not. As well as what risks to watch out for. Backups and snapshots are both useful in protecting data and making sure that if human error happens or hardware fails there is still a way to retrieve the data.
Keeping your cloud storage up to date and erasing unused data helps to keep your storage clean so that you are aware of what is in there. Keeping things organized is a must in order to find things and avoid having unneeded duplicates. Last thing is to watch your data watch for unusual things happening and keep an eye on it. We often think that strange things happening are just a glitch in the system which may be true but it can also be malware or hackers trying to get in and access your data. Be Alert!
Cloud storage is a computing model that stores data on a remote server that is accessed by the internet. They are typically maintained and operated by a cloud storage service provider, where the servers are built and hosted. To put it in simple terms cloud storage is a place for people to store their data in order to make it easy accessible across all of your devices. This makes it so that no matter where you are or what you are using you can access the files you need to.
The History of cloud storage?
The overarching concept of delivering computing resources through a global network is rooted in the 1960's. The whole idea of Intergalactic
computer network was introduce in 1960’s by a man named JCR Licklider.(Learn more about Licklider)
Licklider was responsible for enabling the development of Advance Research Projects Agency Network(ARPNET) in 1969. Until Web 2.0 was brought into the picture not much was done with cloud computing. Another factor was the internet didn’t start to offer significant bandwidth til the 1990’s making cloud computing for the masses something that is a recent development.
A site called Salesforce.com was one of the first major milestones in cloud computing history. This site pioneered the concept of delivering enterprise applications via a simple website. This paved the path for both specialists as well as mainstream software firms to deliver applications via the internet. Amazon Web services was the next big step. They provided a suite of cloud-based services that included storage, computation and even human intelligence via the Amazon Mechanical Turk. This was followed by Amazon launching their Elastic Compute Cloud as a commercial web service allowing small companies/individuals to rent computers on which they could run their own computer applications. The next milestone was in 2009 when Web 2.0 was really coming into play and more companies like Google started to offer browser based enterprise applications like Google Apps. Leading into a major contribution of cloud computing which is Apps that we use on our phones and other devices. When major companies like Google and Microsoft started rolling them out and showing people how reliable and easy it was the acceptance of online services boomed.
What platforms are out there?
There is a wide array of providers of cloud storage. Some of the major players are IDrive, Microsoft OneDrive, GoogleDrive, SugarSync, Icloud, Box and DropBox. Each provider has their own thing to offer it is a matter of preference and needs. Some offer large amount of storage for super cheap while others may charge more but have higher security. It is up to you as the user to decide what is best for you. What fits into your budget and meets your needs to the best extent.
Types of Cloud Storage
There are two major types of cloud storage there is private and there is public. The personal cloud is the collection of digital content and services that are accessible from any device. It is typically not a tangible entity. It’s a place that gives users the capability to store, sync, stream and share content on a relative core. It gives them the ability to move from one platform to another and from one location to another, It is created with connected services and applications. There are four basic types of personal clouds. They include Online Cloud(LINK), NAS Device cloud(LINK), server device cloud(LINK), and home made clouds(LINK). A benefit of a personal cloud is the user has complete control of their data.
The public cloud storage is typically a pay for use. These are provided by large companies who offer you a piece of their storage typically for a monthly or yearly fee. Prices are usually based on the amount of Gigabytes needed for storage. These are often used to back up data as part of a disaster recovery plan. These are also used to archive emails and static non-core application data. A major advantage of using a public cloud is that the provider does all the work of building and maintaining the storage infrastructure and they deal with all the costs including power, cooling and server maintenance while the consumer only pays for the resources being used.
Security of cloud storage
One of the major concerns of cloud storage is the security of it. While accessing your data anywhere at anytime is a major convenience, many worry about how safe their data is when it is stored in the internet. Data stored on clouds typically lie outside the limits of many safe guards that are used to protect sensitive data. Meaning enterprises have to step up their game on security and take extra measures to keeps this data safe. Many of the implemented securities start with the basics protections such as authentication, access control and encryption. Many enterprises add additional security to these. Things like monitored downloads, event logs, encryption, alerts, reports and policies all help in protecting data stored by cloud services. When it all comes down to it the biggest risk in security is the human factor. People need to be properly trained on what is ok use and what is not. As well as what risks to watch out for. Backups and snapshots are both useful in protecting data and making sure that if human error happens or hardware fails there is still a way to retrieve the data.
Keeping your cloud storage up to date and erasing unused data helps to keep your storage clean so that you are aware of what is in there. Keeping things organized is a must in order to find things and avoid having unneeded duplicates. Last thing is to watch your data watch for unusual things happening and keep an eye on it. We often think that strange things happening are just a glitch in the system which may be true but it can also be malware or hackers trying to get in and access your data. Be Alert!
References
Cloud storage. (2017, November 02). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_storage
A history of cloud computing. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/A-history-of-cloud-computing
Pullen, J. P. (2015, March 19). Where Did Cloud Computing Come From, Anyway? Retrieved November 04, 2017, from http://time.com/collection-post/3750915/cloud-computing-origin-story/
Muchmore, M., Duffy, J., Michael Muchmore. The Best Cloud Storage and File-Sharing Services of 2017. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/306323/the-best-cloud-storage-providers-and-file-syncing-services
Donovan, J., & Coppock, M. (2017, April 21). Cloud storage is carefree with these top-tier services. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/best-cloud-storage-services-compared/
Personal cloud. (2017, September 07). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_cloud
What is personal cloud storage (PCS)? - Definition from WhatIs.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/personal-cloud-storage-PCS
What is public cloud storage? - Definition from WhatIs.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/public-cloud-storage
Beal, V. (n.d.). Public cloud storage. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/public_cloud_storage.html
What is Cloud Storage Security? Securing Cloud Storage Usage. (2017, July 27). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://digitalguardian.com/blog/what-cloud-storage-security-securing-cloud-storage-usage
7 Ways to Secure Cloud Storage. (2017, May 24). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.networkcomputing.com/data-centers/7-ways-secure-cloud-storage/866645128
Photo References
What is Dropbox Composer and how is it out to kill Google Docs and Evernote? (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/133482-what-is-dropbox-composer-and-how-is-it-out-to-kill-google-docs-and-evernote
J. C. R. Licklider. (2017, October 25). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._C._R._Licklider
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-terabytes-all-you-need-get-started-tim-wessels
http://www.hubstor.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/iStock_33780344_VSMALL.jpg