Riverbank It management

Cloud computing is the topic of the moment, with servers and their applications metamorphosing into web-based services. But will all businesses want to join this rush to the cloud?

The evidence so far is that for individual professionals and micro-businesses cloud computing has irresistible attractions - you don't need to buy any expensive hardware or software, and someone else manages everything for you.

Larger companies feel the same attraction, but for many it is diminished by other factors. They need to know where their data is and who has access to it. The demands of their clients might place greater constraints on their ability to entrust the care of their data to unknown people and organisations.

Enter the private cloud. In the world of the private cloud a company has its own infrastructure based in the cloud. They get the benefit of global access to their systems but they also know exactly where their data is and who has access to it. In addition they still get the benefits of scalability, flexibility and no capital costs.

Who knows where the cloud computing revolution will take us. We are in a period of rapid change driven by the opportunities created by technological change and economic pressures. It's impossible to say what the world will look like in a year's time. But for many security-conscious professional organisations, the idea of their own private cloud is sure to be alluring.