The internet is growing at an astonishing rate. Today I am going to talk about what is cloud computing and how cloud storage is being impelled to develop much higher capabilities as a result of the exponential growth of online data use. Cloud computing is actually the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources,
software, and information are provided to
computers and other devices as a metered service over a network (typically the Internet).
There are two basic kinds of data we’re talking about here: unstructured data and structured data. The distinction between the two is the way in which it is stored – basically structured data gets stored in a database, which can be queried using routines; while unstructured data is just – there.
A typical example of unstructured data would be a movie clip or a server log. Web pages may also count as unstructured data. It is this kind of data that is growing at speeds current storage facilities are finding difficult to control.
Interestingly enough, it is the physical world and its repeated urges to downsize and de-clutter that have been the prime mover in this unprecedented spike in
Cloud storage. With paperless offices becoming the norm and physical entertainment media being eschewed in favour of file sharing or file storage, the physical world is moving all of its junk into cyberspace. It’s like a massive lawn sale where everything ends up in the same garden.
That’s a good thing, of course – the emptier the world the fewer trees we are cutting down for paper files and the less oil we are refining into CD cases and DVD wallets. But in the virtual world it’s causing some real problems.
The length of time records need to be store for – at least seven years – means that companies no longer delete digital information. So the web, which generates more content in a single day than has ever been broadcast on US
TV, is now being forced to keep all of it.
So now we’re talking, a lot, abut scalability. Scalability is the ability to move your storage capability up in step with your storage needs – rather than suffering crippling slowdowns while you wait for your technology budget to catch up with your technology needs.
The Cloud gives a potentially unlimited amount of storage even in the face of new types of content creation.
Social networking, web 2.0 and the ubiquity of extremely powerful
smartphones now mean that user created content is spiralling rapidly – as people create content on the go, wherever they are and whatever they are doing. Businesses involved in supporting and storing this content need ever expanding access to ever bigger storage spaces – and increasingly the Cloud is becoming the cost effective option for most of them.
The Cloud places no physical limitations on your server space. By hiring server space from Cloud providers you have as much data storage and
security as you need without having to physically stuff the servers into an office building or your own installation.
The existence of the data growth problem has forced those of us who work in and with the internet to examine the fine line between the benefits of exponentially improving technology and the problems it creates. It’s almost a Catch 22 situation. More speed means more power. More power means more downloading capabilities, which means more content is downloaded (i.e. duplicated).
The ability to download quicker, better and faster creates a secondary demand for more available content to choose form. Multiple downloads are now so easy that content providers (who are already having trouble consistently finding original ways to engage their followers) are required to up their game yet again, flooding the available nooks and crannies of the web with more data just as it seems it has expanded to satisfy its current needs.
Data storage needs will continue to get bigger as technology becomes more interactive and quicker. The question is, whether private or public Cloud storage management businesses are capable of choosing the right storage infrastructure in the present to deal with future demand.
Shannen D is a Freelance and Staff writer who writes informative & creative articles on SEO and Technology for various search engine optimization company. Her expertise are in writing articles related to best mobile broadband, SEO, Social media etc.
