When you look up to the sky, what do you see? Blue sky, birds, clouds? I see a cloud and instantly think millions and millions of bytes of data. There is data all around us.
I was laying in my hammock the other weekend just admiring the world around me. Listening to the birds chirping, the bees buzzing, my koi pond waterfall flowing, and I found myself staring at the sky. Next thing I know, the tech geek came out of me and I started thinking about “the cloud” and all the bytes of data we have up in the cloud: pictures, documents, music, movies, etc. Think about this for a minute: We transfer data wirelessly from device to device with minimal interruption (for the most part I know). Data is passing around us all the time and we are oblivious to it because you cannot see it nor feel it. We don’t care where it is stored or how it gets to us, but what we do care about is that it is there when we need to pull it up from our devices.
I watched the birds flying around freely from point to point just like our data does. Historically our ancestors used Pigeons to transfer messages. Data flying through space J. Today, we do not need pigeons; we use data network and devices. What does all of this have to do with “the cloud?” I recently wrote another blog titled “Where in the world is my data and should I care” referencing the cloud. I think people have a misconception of the cloud. At its core, it is a way to store and share information easily and quickly. Take Microsoft’s OneDrive (formally SkyDrive) for example. Who knows where the data is located but what I know is that when I put a file into the OneDrive folder on my laptop, within minutes, it is available for access from my other devices I have connected to the folder. I use OneDrive to share information with my customers, partners, and family members as well. I remember caring an external hard drive around with all my pictures on it so I could plug it in and show my family members. Then it was the thumb drives. Let’s not forget about emailing multiple pictures and taking up valuable storage space in your email box. Now, I just drop my vacation pictures into my Microsoft OneDrive folder and viola, they are magically in the cloud. A couple clicks later, I have a link that I can text, email, and share with whomever I grant access to my “cloud” folder.
Yes, there are other more complex “cloud” solutions and meanings, but I wanted to keep it simple. And the “cloud” doesn’t have be a scary thing if you don’t understand it. Remember it is just a means of storing data. And to quote the dialog between characters in the new move “Sex Tape”:
Jason Segel: “It went up. It went up to the cloud.”
Cameron Diaz: “And you can’t get it down from the Cloud?”
Jason Segel: “Nobody understands the cloud. It’s a (explicit) mystery.”
My point of this whole blog is that we are surrounded by our data. Data, data everywhere! Pick your device and send or receive. Where the data is stored and how it gets to your device can remain a mystery, just as long as it is available when you want it. Right?
Want to check out more articles from Gary, learn more about the cloud, or have questions to some of the topics he brings up? Contact us at sales@ktlsolutions.com or give him a friendly call at 301.360.0001.
GARY FRANCART | Director of Sales
Gary joined KTL in May of 2005 and has been continuously committed to ensuring a successful partnership and innovation of our customer’s business goals. His priority is to understand your organizational mission, vision, and strategic plan. Gary brings a wealth of knowledge to assist our customer’s product selection and implementation. With a visionary approach, he is able to ensure that KTL meets the ever-changing demands of technology business applications for complete customer satisfaction. Gary has over 18 years of technology sales and leadership – 10 of which were spent specializing in Business Applications such as Microsoft Dynamics, Acumatica Cloud ERP, CRM, and Business Intelligence solutions.
