Cloud computing is gaining utmost importance today. With help of cloud services, you can access your data ,information or services online giving you the advantage of accessing them from anywhere in the world thorough the Internet. If you check your emails regularly then you are also using the cloud power. All your mails are actually stored on your email service provider cloud server which you access through net.

Lets see what are the most useful technique through which cloud is used today :

Utility Computing

Big industries and companies rent out hardware from the cloud service providers. The advantage of this is that companies are not required to invest in the required hardware needed. It is particularly useful for the SME which cannot afford to buy the expensive infrastructure for the development purpose. This also saves maintained cost too. So, pay for only what you use.

SAAS

A quite similar is SAAS which is “software as a service”. In simple terms , let say you want to use a software called Microsoft powerpoint but you are required to pay for the whole office suite. But with help of SAS , you only pay for the service which you are using. So , you are not required to worry about the product updates, license validity of the software or buying the latest version of the product. All this is managed by your service provider.

Using cloud for your personal storage

This segment is particularly gaining importance today. With Internet rates falling and accessibility of net everywhere , its great idea to have your data with you always using the net. This is done via the cloud . You store your data ,files,videos, music etc. on the cloud. Just upload your files and access them anywhere. This eliminates your worry about physical hardware damage that could happen to your hard disk which could corrupt your data and important files. The restriction to this is that most of such cloud service providers offering cloud storage have a upper limit to storage space which is quite small such as 2-5Gb.

Some of the best Cloud services available are :

Amazon Cloud Drive

It offers you 5Gb of free space. You can upload all your stuff such as music ,videos ,files etc to the servers. The upper limit to the file size is 2Gb. You can always buy more storage if you like . It even allows you to stream videos and music without need of downloading them.

Windows Skydrive

If you have a Live ID( such as your hotmail account ) then you are also entitled to get skydrive. It gives you 25 gb of free storage with upper limit of 50mb per file. It gives you maximum storage space given by any cloud service today. The ' Live Mesh' available can be used to simply drag & drop files with ease.

Box.net

Here you have two choices, either a free space of 5 gb with upper limit of 25 Mb per file. There is also a business account with better features and facilities. Ofcourse the business account comes with a hefty price tag.

Dropbox

One of the most common cloud space provider is dropbox. It offers 2 Gb of free space , though there are ways to increase this space like referring friends which gives you 250 Mb of free space for each referral in case your friend joins dropbox. There is also way to use your .edu email address to increase your space ( just Google to find ways to increase dropbox free space).

Google

Our beloved Google also provides you with approx 8Gb of space which includes your gmail ,docs,spreadsheet and picassa space.

Safesync

it is owned by Trend micro solutions which is most famous for its security products. It is actually a paid service cost you around Rs 1800 for 20Gb space.

Advantages of the Cloud

Quickly reviewing the advantages offered by the cloud are

• Accessibility of your files from the INTERNET anywhere
• Backing up your important data and files over the net
• Accessing files simultaneously over multiple PC's.
• Cost saving by renting only the necessary hardware and software and not the complete production unit.

So make sure that you take advantage of the Internet cloud and use it to the fullest.