Whatever IT industry you find yourself in, you’ll hear an awful lot about the cloud.
Cloud-based computing is currently all the rage, providing a handy solution for cyber security, data management and budget concerns that helps businesses be more efficient and more secure.
The term actually refers to the use of on-demand IT resources that are managed by a data centre, often backed and offered by large cloud providers, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS. Using resources provided by these centres reduces the need for local IT infrastructure, like servers for example – infrastructure which can be costly and difficult to manage.
So, we know that cloud-based computing is a big deal – but where did it all start?
The beginnings of the cloud
Technically, the first real start of cloud computing was back in 1963. A project called Project MAC, was the first instance of a computer that could be accessed by two to three different people. One of the classic examples of an early computer, Project MAC used reels of magnetic tape for energy. Despite this initial technology, it still fulfilled the same role as cloud computing in what was called virtualisation.
By 1997, the cloud was an established and defined theory describing the virtual space between the user of a service and the provider of a service. It rapidly took off towards the turn of the millennium, as companies discovered they could use the internet to provide services, on-demand and instantly – harnessing that space to connect instantly with customers.
The rise of cloud services
Both Amazon and Google launched cloud services as far back as 2006 – Google created Google Docs and Amazon launched the Amazon Web Services. Following on from the success of these products, a series of American universities banded together to operate their research through a remote server, set up by IBM and Google, creating the first real cloud-based data computing that many businesses make use of today.
Public clouds soon followed, as did private clouds and by 2007 to 2011 the cloud made its way into homes with programs like; iCloud, Dropbox and OneDrive. This allowed regular people to store their pictures, documents and more on cloud-based services, to free up storage on their machines.
Multi-clouds emerged later in 2014, when businesses began to use different clouds for different SaaS services – gaining benefits from each of the cloud providers as they went.
Looking to the future
As businesses around the world conform to new ways of remote working, the cloud looks to become only ever more vital for both the corporate and domestic worlds. Moreover, as cloud computing technology develops, so too does the capacity for elements like storage and automation, both of which represent the next steps of IT innovation.
One key aspect of cloud computing that always bears mentioning is security. The entirely virtual and digital nature of the cloud can make it more susceptible to attacks from remote cybercriminals. But the good news is that with every iteration of cloud computing, cloud security is getting better and better.
At CSP, we provide a full cloud enablement service, helping to link your business up to the cloud with reliable and trusted cloud strategies, that are risk-mitigated and tailored to your work. More importantly, we ensure security is placed in the highest regard right through – to keep your employees and data safe while you work through cloud computing.
To find more about our cloud enablement offering, visit our dedicated page here.