Tech / Oct 27 2020
Cloud computing is changing our lives in many ways - from social media to streaming services, shopping, wearables or storing files. Here's why it is time to embrace it.
Cloud computing means computing on a network of servers accessible through a network connection in order to store, manage, and process data. And although we might not notice it, cloud computing has already changed our lives significantly. From how we communicate with each other to how we access information, how we travel, shop, watch our favourite shows and how business is done in general. Cloud computing affects most areas of our lives. Read on and find out where you are using it without even realizing it.
(1) Social media
No one can argue that social media hasn’t impacted the way everyday life is lived these days. Roughly half of the people in the world use some form of it and chances are, you are one of them. It has never been easier to keep in touch with your family and friends, network, or find people with similar interests to yours across the globe. Whichever social network you use, all of them use the cloud in one way or another - to store their users' content, for analytics, and to reduce the costs related to data backup and recovery in case a disaster occurs.
(2) Video and music streaming services
Remember the early and not so fun days of video and audio streaming with a dial-up connection? Both video and audio streaming has come a long way since then. And what helped it come this far were actually the advancements in the cloud computing technology. Those improvements revolutionised the way entertainment is delivered to us, bettered the performance and the viewing experience.
For example, users can now order Netflix products and services from almost anywhere in the world, using different devices in contrast to the few thousand DVD orders Netflix was able to process in the early days before migrating to the cloud.
(3) Online shopping
Have you ever wondered how your favourite shop knows what you recently viewed or which items to recommend to you? The answer is simple. They save all of this information to the cloud and use it whenever you sign in. Most online shops use the cloud to store the details that make completing future purchases simpler for their customers. They let you save your credit card details and mark items as favourites. Behind the curtains, cloud computing also enables them to more efficiently manage their inventory.
(4) Wearables
Who is not counting steps these days? If you are using a fitness tracker or a smartwatch to track your activity, heart rate, or sleep, you are among the millions of adults who already use wearable technology. Wearables of all sorts are definitely in trend and due to growing awareness of the importance of healthy living, they are probably not going away any time soon. One of the key drivers behind the rapid spread of wearables is actually cloud computing. Users can simply log their activities into the cloud from multiple devices and sync those with their phones. On the other hand, the cloud gives the manufacturers an easy way to store and access customer data. By processing massive data that is at their disposal they are improving their future products and their features.
(5) Education
These days students, fortunately, have alternative options for pursuing and completing their degrees and are not constrained to rely on traditional methods of learning. And considering the times, it is great that they have the possibility to do that. Universities offer online courses and some degrees are available entirely through remote learning. The information and content materials utilized in courses are stored in the cloud, enabling students the access to it anytime and from anywhere. Cloud computing is improving accessibility, reducing costs and increasing collaboration in education processes and is helping educational institutions offer a more modern approach to learning.
(6) Storing data
Every day we create huge amounts of data. And what better way to store it than the cloud? Cloud storage is becoming increasingly popular for both personal and business use. Whether you use it for storing your family photos, for file-sharing with your team or for storing backups of your important business files, there is no denying cloud storage helps you organize your data and keep it safe. You can also easily access it anytime and anywhere, as long as you have a working internet connection. Read more on why we love cloud storage.
These are only some of the areas of our lives that are affected by cloud computing. Business processes, gaming, team collaboration, productivity, communication, navigation and healthcare are some of the others.
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