Here’s something else to think about if you’re getting into coud computing:
Backup. What’s backup doing on the list of cloud computing disadvantages? It’s supposed to be one of the big advantages. In theory, it is. If your comparison is to the sloppy job most home users to with backup, it’s probably an advantage in practice. If the long pole in your backup tent is convenience, cloud computing certainly offers an advantage; doing backup right takes time, energy, and vigilance. However, if not losing your data is your prime concern, you may be better off doing it yourself. I’m not sure why cloud backup is a problem sometimes. It’s probably because the cloud systems are a good deal more complicated and dynamic than simply home or small business systems, and there’s much more opportunity for unanticipated consequences. For whatever the reason, I have never lost data at home, but I’ve had a web hosting company lose my website and restore from a six-month-old backup and then later lose it completely (fortunately, I had backed up the site myself).
Company stability also figures in the backup equation. If your cloud provider goes bust, can you get your data from them? That’s pretty hard to predict.
When it comes to cloud backup, I’m a belt -and-suspenders kind of guy. Let the cloud people do all the backup they want, but I want to do my own as well. If they won’t let me, that’s a big reason not to use them.
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