As almost as modern computers may be, it has to be more potent than the arithmetic servant can offer for some applications. In some cases, server farms on the Internet can step in via cloud computing. For companies, expensive high-performance computers for occasional tasks often do not pay off – computing time can then also be rented on the Internet. The software can also be saved, a cost factor that should not be underestimated, especially with expensive special programs.
The necessary interfaces for the company are standardized so that access can be made by the hour or day from simple workstations in the company. In general, for a modern company, the question arises more and more often whether they want to be the owner of an extensive IT with sometimes highly specialized computers and programs or whether they outsource the relevant work and access the computers of specialized companies with simple IT via a standardized interface. In addition to your hardware and software costs, there are always costs.
However, providers with data centers in India should preferably be used for professional applications due to data protection concerns. Domestic providers should prefer domestic providers, especially when confidential data is sent. The legislature even prohibits the storage of customer data on foreign cloud services. Other companies that have already invested in the appropriate computer technology are now using the technical possibilities and renting out the computing power they do not need – also domestically, for example, Telekom, with its well-equipped data centers, is a suitable partner. Abroad, especially Amazon with its S3 cloud, should be known.
Enormous computing power can also be rented here for a short time, such as carrying out scientific calculations that only occur once. But cracking passwords or searching for specific content in large amounts of data is also part of the daily tasks of the S3 cloud. Aside from professional use, there are also private areas of application for cloud computing. Google is likely to be a pioneer in this area, which has now outsourced a complete operating system, including many vital applications in everyday life, to the cloud.
For this purpose, Google, in cooperation with various hardware manufacturers, offers special netbooks with limited computing power but good communication options. These devices contact the corresponding Google servers right from the start – the associated operating system is called Chrome OS and consists mainly of a flexible web browser. On the Internet, numerous services also operated by Google can be called up within the browser window – e-mail, calendar, word processing, image editing, and even video editing in the cloud.
Google’s servers carry out the necessary calculations in the network. The computer itself is only used for output and input. However, the user gives all data out of hand and into the power of Google – here, only a lot of trust in the provider helps when using it. An online connection with the highest possible bandwidth is also necessary since Chrome OS cannot be used sensibly without contact with the Google servers. However, this way of working also offers advantages – no matter on which computer and where the user logs in with his account, he has access to the same applications and files anytime and anywhere.
If you log out of your Chrome OS computer in the office in the evening, you can theoretically continue working on your account at home without interruption. In the event of a computer defect, any new computer can be placed at the workplace. No set-up is required – enter the user account. If the notebook is stolen, the thief can do little with the device because no data is stored on the computer. However, if an attacker gets hold of the login data for their Chrome OS account,
At least IT veterans may already be a little familiar with this way of working: a few decades ago, when workplace computers and home PCs were far from being a matter of course, people were working on technically very slimmed-down terminal computers, with the mainframe computer then taking care of the computing and storage capacity company. Currently, this mainframe has migrated to the cloud, can be located anywhere in the world – even in several at the same time – and offers significantly more performance.
The basic idea of not needing a much too fast computer for every workplace, which also requires a certain amount of administration, is quite apparent. Whether concepts such as Chrome OS can prevail on a broader basis, The future will have to show – the data protection concerns and the sluggish expansion of faster Internet connections currently speak against these solutions. In addition, Google’s Chromebooks, the already mentioned netbooks based on Chrome OS, have not yet been able to establish themselves.
