Where the Cloud Fails.

So while there are many pros with Cloud Computing, there are also many cons. What if Hurricane Ike were to hit your home in Ohio, destroying houses, trees and the phone and cable infrastructure? It could be days before you will be able access the critical corporate data that you stored on Google Docs last night. Sure, it’s nice to be able to access your info to work on your report at your boyfriend’s house. But if your boss wants that report tomorrow, it’s suddenly not so nice anymore, is it? If you are the boss, losing connection means losing money and possibly customers. Don’t forget that while confidential information stored online makes it easier to access anywhere in the world, it can be jeopardized with so many hackers out there nowadays. Leaving your information up in the cloud may also literally mean that – it has gone up there and may never come back to you.

Take Apple for instance. The company launched its new application, MobileMe, but problems with it caused for many emails to be completely erased – leaving customers not feeling so happy. My recommendation is to keep all critical data backed up locally on the computer in case the next hurricane hits.