Get with… “the cloud”
With so much going on in “the cloud”, often times its easy to get a little overwhelmed when looking for how “the cloud” can help you. Its quite possible you are already involved with…”the cloud”, if your not, then it is certainly a good idea to know how you can be involved so when asked by your peers or clients you’ll know what to say. When it has become second nature in many ways for the younger generations of today to utilize the cloud… It is often a growing difficulty for Parents, Grand Parents, Generation X, Baby Boomer and beyond to keep up, as well as some IT professionals to compete with something that so many of our children and younger peers seem to grasp and have a nice head start on.
Wait a minute….What do You think the cloud is?
Of course, maybe everyone already “knows” what this so called cloud is. The truth is that this cloud is simply the internet with attached services and etc, and it is something that changes all the time. This means that what everyone might consider the cloud to be today as “a network of storage, email, notes, data, applications and online collaboration” will quite possibly be a bit different and maybe a much larger concept with more options down the road. With this being the case, it is important to have a head start on knowing what you can and can’t about utilizing “Todays” cloud options. So to start, lets look at cloud storage. 
OK… lets talk about Cloud Storage please…
With so many choices in public online storage, there are a few major players to take note of . Some of the more popular for a few different reasons are Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, SugarSync and Box. It is easy to view each and see what you might prefer. Google seems to have a corner on the market for quite a few different reasons, with a nice amount of online storage as well being tied into many of Googles applications and cloud functions. Each cloud storage provider obviously has their pros and cons and since no one is perfect, it will pretty much be up to you and your preferences when choosing who you would use when comparing. Sometimes though some cons might mean something to someone and something else to another. A few things to consider when choosing a good free online storage solution:
- initial storage size
- versatility and usability
- cost options when increasing storage size
- security
Private vs. Public Storage Solutions
There are many different options out there with big names like Google. However once these providers get big enough and become noticed by “uncle sam” certain “rules” apply and things take affect that honestly removes them from being as secure as they claim to be. Next thing you know, all your data is being passed over to “uncle sam” because of the patriot act and similar invasions of privacy that “uncle sam” calls “security”. Who do you know that has a favorite uncle that likes to spy on you while in the restroom?…. I certainly see a problem there, and I would hope you would too, because when it comes to your data security being addressed much the same way by “uncle sam” it is obviously a concern and in your best interest when you require privacy to utilize a cloud storage service provider who is free from scrutiny. Try to stay away from those public cloud storage solutions who happily give all your private data to “uncle sam” when you don’t want them to. This is where private cloud storage solutions come into play. There are many different options out there, but often only a few can truly pull off the security that you might require. Some service providers believe that security is essential enough to risk their business to make sure yours is secure. Tech Viable certainly thinks that way. After all who determines what true security really is for your data other than YOU? I for one believe that I should be able to determine what my security is, and not let anyone else determine it for me whether it is a major public storage There are many different pros and cons to private vs public. It is certainly a good idea to research the best choices out there for you. Often public solutions like the 5 mentioned above have no problem handing you over to someone else who does NOT have your best interest in mind for data mining and various nefarious activities, even though they claim they don’t. What really is the difference between handing it to your neighbor, somebody you don’t know, or “uncle sam”…there is none other than one is outspokenly saying they have your best interest in mind when it’s really their own. In the end, a good concept to using online cloud storage is the following:
If you don’t mind anyone seeing it, use Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, SugarSync and Box, etc … if you DO mind anyone seeing it, use a private cloud storage solution from a private service provider.Certainly make sure you do your homework to determine what is best for you, don’t take my word for it, but instead when you are able to check out your options and see what works best for you, as only YOU can determine what is important for your needs in cloud storage.