{"id":3027,"date":"2016-05-09T08:29:50","date_gmt":"2016-05-09T06:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.invoiceberry.com\/?p=3027"},"modified":"2023-05-29T13:54:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T11:54:32","slug":"beginners-guide-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.invoiceberry.com\/blog\/beginners-guide-cloud\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complete Guide to the Cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>\u2026Cookie\u2026bug\u2026virus\u2026mouse. <\/span><\/p>\n

No no, these are not some random things \u2014 they are all computer jargon. You probably guessed that yourself in a second, didn’t you?<\/span><\/p>\n

By now, we\u2019re so familiar with these terms, we probably don\u2019t even question their origins<\/span><\/a>, or why we like naming computer stuff after everyday objects.<\/span><\/p>\n

I grew up hearing these terms and really, I never questioned them myself. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, I still remember when I first heard the word “cloud”: in my head I kept imagining an actual cloud above a computer, this cloud was slightly electrified, and full of information from all the computers around the world (ok, ok, I was pretty young back then). <\/span><\/p>\n

But don’t laugh \u2014 this is how someone was actually explaining it to me \u2014 it\u2019s the cloud and it holds all the information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, now I don’t need to imagine a cloud over my computer whenever I come across this term. Again, I don\u2019t even think about it anymore. It’s the cloud and that\u2019s that. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"icloud
Once you start using the cloud, you won\u2019t believe you once managed to live without it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But for so many of people, this term is still a mystery, even something unworthy of their\u00a0trust. <\/span><\/p>\n

And it’s no surprise: the cloud has only recently become a buzz word (although we\u2019ve been using the cloud for decades<\/span><\/a>), and despite its wide usage (nearly 38 percent of all small businesses in the U.S. are now using cloud computing<\/span>), there are still many companies who chose to throw away their time and money creating off-line software. <\/span><\/p>\n

So my task today is not only to explain this concept and its advantages, but also to introduce you to the main cloud service providers, and give some advice on how to get started in the cloud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you an iPhone user? Check out the best apps for small business owners here:\u00a056 Top iPhone Apps for Small Business Owners<\/a><\/span> to boost your business success.<\/div>\n

What is cloud computing?<\/span><\/h2>\n

So what is cloud computing? I know you could open a Wikipedia<\/a> and check yourself, but to be honest, I intend to explain it in human<\/i> language \ud83d\ude42 <\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s start by breaking it down a bit. <\/span><\/p>\n

First of all \u2014 what is the cloud?<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine this: you come back home and find out that a meteorite crashed into your house. Even worse, the meteorite completely destroyed your most precious thing \u2014 your computer! <\/span><\/p>\n

You’re horrified, but while blaming the universe for destroying your life-worth of files, you realise something: you lost the machine itself, but all of the files within it\u2026 Well, you might actually still have them!<\/span>
\n\"Cloud<\/p>\n

Think about it: you probably have tons of pictures on Facebook, you listen to your music on Spotify, you already shared your documents with colleagues on Google Drive. So, really, you didn\u2019t lose that much. <\/span><\/p>\n

How? Because instead of storing it only on your computer, you were using the cloud<\/i>. Even if you computer is destroyed, you can still access your music on your smart phone app, right? <\/span><\/p>\n

And that is exactly what the cloud is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cloud means that you don\u2019t have to store everything on your computer or burn CDs or anything like that anymore. You can back-up your files on different websites, apps, platforms, access it from anywhere, anytime, and even if one (or all\u2026) of your devices get destroyed, you will still be able to recover your files.<\/span><\/p>\n