BEFORE we can catch up with the internet cloud, we have to know what it is.
First of all, the internet cloud or simply the cloud is not a single place, nor is it single collective of many places. Simply put, a cloud is any group of remote servers that are networked and connected to the internet in order to perform certain shared tasks.
Given that definition, a cloud could be located anywhere in the world, for as long as the servers within it are networked and provided that it is remotely connected to the internet.
Perhaps to be able to understand what an internet cloud really is, we could just say that it could replace an on premise data center, because it could do everything that a data center could do, except that it is remote, and you may not even know where it is.
There are many who would say that the totality of the internet is collectively the cloud, but I would rather stick to the old definition that the internet is a “network of networks”, and that the specific cloud facilities are just part of the broader internet.
Cloud-based computing (or simply cloud computing) means storing and accessing software and data over the internet, instead of doing so in your hard drive. There are many ways to compare the two approaches, but bottom line is the computing cost.
To illustrate how that works, on premise computing would require the procurement of your own servers, storage and accessories and that would be like buying the whole cow. Cloud computing, on the other hand, is like buying beef by the pound only, and you would only buy it when you need it. That is what on demand computing means.
Because of the emergence of cloud computing, it is now possible for small enterprises to keep their own data and run their applications in remote servers and storage, instead of putting their own on premise data center which they would not be able to afford otherwise. By any means and in any language, this emergence has created a democratizing effect, because the small enterprises could now do what only the big business corporations could do before. Scaling this up to the global level, the smaller countries could now do what only the bigger countries could do before.
Along with cloud computing came the twins Big Data and the Internet of Things (IOT), both of which would greatly improve the quality of life of human beings now and in the future. For sure, Big Data will be useful because of data analytics, but I think that IOT would even be more useful because of all the Things that would make our lives better, all networked and connected to the internet.
For sure, the value added services that will be provided because of IOT will be brought to you courtesy of the private sector, but this early, the government should start planning the public services that it could provide beyond the realm of commerce.
The possibilities of using IOT are unlimited, and if ever, the only limit is our own imagination. In theory, any Thing (perhaps in the form of microchips or sensors) could be installable anywhere, and any Thing that is installed anywhere is connectable by using any available means.
Aside from that, any Thing that is installed and connected is command able. Just like good old radio, Things are two-way devices therefore it could send and receive signals, in the form of instructions (perhaps in the form of voice, text and data).
As I watch futuristic movies, I could not help but notice that if life in the future will turn out to be the way that we are imagining it now, everything will be computerized and in other words, everything will be automated. As the plots of futuristic movies would show us, life in the future could turn out to be perfect because of advanced technology, except that there is always a villain or an evil ideology that would spoil everything.
Well, we could not prevent evil or the emergence of villains, but surely we could manage technology very well so that it will benefit our people now and in the future.
Looking at how it is now and how it could possibly be in the future, I also could not help but notice that it is policy that is always lagging behind the utilization of technology. That sad reality is happening even now, because we could already see even now that cloud based, web based and fee based technologies are already available for anyone to use, but there is no policy framework yet that could push these forward.
Alas, what we probably need is a benevolent political party that could push forward a godly ideology so that we could push policies for technologies forward and also to prevent the emergence of unwanted villains./PN
