This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
Years ago, the topic of the cloud exhausted me as much as hearing “despacito” a thousand times a day. The cloud topic was very recent for everyone, however, it was more common than we could imagine. But why so common? What is working in the cloud?
In summary: working in the cloud means storing data on the Internet instead of doing it on our local hard drive; it’s running programs on the Internet instead of running them on our computer. The cloud is just a metaphor to refer to the systems we run on the Internet.
We’ve actually been using the cloud so routinely that we’ve been doing it for years when we stored data in Google Drive, OneDrive and even in our Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo! email accounts.
I still remember before using Google Drive, I would often upload a file to my email just to store it online and not have to buy a USB (flash drive) to take it to university.
When I took on the role of technology manager in a company, I was distrustful of the cloud for several years, as I thought that our company’s information was in the hands of a third party who could steal it. I believe there are always vulnerabilities, but I also think I overdosed on too many hacker movies, James Bond, and Edward Snowden. As the years passed, I started changing my paradigm. I realized that the organization could eliminate scope limitations by transferring information without relying solely on unofficial company systems like “Megaupload” or free Dropbox accounts; we discovered the advantages of using SharePoint, and learned to collaborate in real-time through a single document. Simply put, several people could edit a document at the same time, which could be a proposal that needed to be delivered to a client. At the same time, it was being graphically improved by the designer, verified by the sales consultant, and analyzed by the financial manager; all working simultaneously on a document that was being edited in record time.
The cloud didn’t just bring us collaboration. Additionally, it reduced our costs when we stopped investing in physical servers. We used the time of our technology staff more efficiently by avoiding time investment in device maintenance, and even improved restoration time in disaster cases.
I still remember two moments when we affirmed that using the cloud was our best technological investment:
1. After the theft at one of our offices in Mexico, they took the equipment, but more valuable than the equipment itself is the information, which remained in the cloud. The challenge of reacquiring the equipment is calmly handled through an insurance company and a cup of coffee.
2. When WannaCry (ransomware that hijacks information) tried to make us cry by encrypting the hard drives of a data server that had been maintaining information since 2002. I remember that day, far from wanting to cry, we burst out laughing and found the first reason to activate our Microsoft SharePoint. All the information was always synchronized, the total recovery time was half an hour, and we only sent access to the staff. A little later, the CEO of the organization told me that I had earned a whisky drink for the quick restoration.
These and several more stories validate the importance of using cloud systems both in organizations and personally. It’s simple, it operates similarly but on a smaller scale. Since I understood this concept, it’s irrelevant to me whether I have my computer or not, since the cloud gives me the ability to continue my work from my cell phone, any other mobile device, or another computer.
