Experts Warn Of Turbulent Trip To Cloud Computing

When Steve Jobs walked onstage last week to introduce the iCloud, the feeling of anticipation was palpable. Apple’s version of “the cloud,” he said, would “demote the PC” and usher in the next big revolution.

Jobs said nothing about the cloud-based computing revolution that is already under way — the one taking place in the company boardroom and IT department. Google, Amazon and IBM, among others, are serving a burgeoning market for business-oriented cloud services, which offer corporate clients the promise of cost savings and new capabilities.

Experts, however, have concerns for businesses moving to place their sensitive data in the cloud. It’s still vulnerable to crashes and attacks and is likely to open up a whole new realm of legal problems.

Simply put, the cloud allows the storage and retrieval of information from a remote server via a network, rather than an individual PC. The advantages include on-demand network access to information by way of PCs, tablets, smartphones and other computing devices. The idea is not entirely new — web-based email systems such as Hotmail, which has been around for years, can be thought of as a use of the cloud… Read More [via npr]