Cloud computing is perhaps the biggest shift the IT industry has experienced since the introduction of the internet, and it will create a massive impact in the sector for the foreseeable future. But unfortunately, many business owners don’t have a very clear idea about what the cloud is and how it can benefit their company.

In layman’s terms, cloud computing is simply a method of storing and accessing your data and programs over the internet, as opposed to the hard drive on your computer. It is a process of utilizing a network of computers to store and process information in order to optimize performance.

One of the first milestones for cloud computing dates back to 1999, when Salesforce.com was first introduced. Salesforce was a pioneer of the concept of delivering enterprise applications via a simple website. This services firm paved the way for both specialist and mainstream software firms to deliver applications over the internet. The next development was Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2002, a leading provider of cloud-based services including storage, computation and even human intelligence through the Amazon Mechanical Turk.

In 2006, Amazon launched its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) as a commercial web service that allowed small businesses and individuals to rent computers on which to run their computer applications. Then another big milestone came in 2009, when Google and many others started to deliver browser-based enterprise applications, such as Google Apps.

The need for hard drives and bulky servers is quickly disappearing. Applications today naturally shift toward a cloud-based platform, as they require more data processing and need to be available on multiple devices including PCs, smartphones, and tablets. The most important thing to know about cloud computing today is that it’s taking over businesses worldwide, with no indication that it will be slowing down anytime soon.

In the past, if you want to take your files with you, your only option would be to save them to a USB flash drive, external hard drive, or a compact disk. But if something were to happen to your portable storage, your precious data would risk being damaged beyond recovery. Saving files to the cloud, however, allows you to access them from wherever, whenever, and from any device that has an Internet connection. The cloud makes it possible for you to share documents with coworkers or friends, allowing for more efficient collaboration.

If you’re like most business owners, you simply don’t have the time, budget, and expertise necessary to buy, deploy, and manage the computing infrastructure needed to run business applications on your own. Cloud computing is considered to be a game-changer for businesses of all sizes, since it gives them remote access to powerful applications at a fraction of the cost. By utilizing cloud technology, you can enjoy enhanced workflow efficiency, an increase in employee productivity, and a rise in profits. Take a look at some of the benefits the cloud has to offer.

One of the key benefits of using the cloud is its scalability. For organizations that have ever-changing computing capacity needs and require a huge amount of computing resources for a given period, the cloud offers the ability to seamlessly expand or contract users and storage capabilities at will.

Cloud computing allows for quick data recovery, high availability, and customization at a much lower price than most traditional disaster recovery methods. Here are some of the key benefits you get from backup and disaster recovery in the cloud:

The cloud has become a reliable and trusted place for business owners to store their documents and private data. With cloud computing, your data is protected with best-in-class security measures, reliable data centers, and professional engineers.

The savings that companies gain from implementing cloud computing tend to be significant. Investing five or six figures on hardware and software installation, as well as management and maintenance costs can become a thing of the past. Cloud service providers can spread the cost of IT equipment over many clients, bringing down your expenses. And in addition to equipment savings, you’ll also be able to save money on energy bills and recruitment costs, since cloud computing consumes less electricity and takes less staff to manage.