Not All Cloud Computing Options Alike, Says ClubDrive Systems CEO

      The cloud computing concept is simple:  using newly expanded broadband capability applications, documents and increasingly operating systems reside on remote servers, not on individual computing devices.  Users access files and applications through any web-enabled device.

     However, "free cloud computing options" are often limited in available applications and may create cause for concern related to data security and ownership.

     Misconceptions abound between what universal cloud-based applications and operating systems will bring to the personal computing market and tailored packages of mission-critical, business-specific applications and security features enabled by the cloud (like those ClubDrive offers).

     "Cloud computing for business will emerge as a 'pay-as-you-go' service that incorporates protection of customers' data with their mission-critical applications," Alston said.  "Free cloud computing may come at the price of privacy.  Many businesses simply can't afford any level of risk related to data security and privacy per regulatory requirements that govern their industries."

     ClubDrive's servers provide all of the applications and data needed to run one office, or even hundreds of offices, from a remote, central location via the Internet.  This saves the expense, and waste, of buying servers, perpetually licensing software, utility costs to run the system, and technical experts for maintenance and troubleshooting.  Recent estimates assert that the use of remote hosting for office technology will grow from a $16 billion business in 2009 to a $42 billion business by 2012.

     "Our Citrix-based platform delivers 25 million different applications accessed by 100 million users daily including thost that require high levels of regulatory complaince like HIPPA in the health care industry and GLBA in banking," Alston said.

     Updates to the latest version of the programs businesses need for regulatory compliance are installed automatically, and without any down time, at ClubDrive Systems.  The latest in information technology becomes a utility purchased like water or electricity enabling workers to plug in an go.

     Adding more users is easy as plugging in a new monitor.  Incorporating new applications as-needed can be accomplished without any disruption in service.  Host servers have all the capacity required to provide the applications and store and back up the data.

     Writing in the New York Times' Week in Review section on July 12, Miguel Helft predicts that cloud computing will redefine how technology looks and works in the years ahead. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/weekinreview/12helft.html?_r=1&ref=weekinreview)

      "Much of the computer world is inexorably moving toward 'cloud computing,' in a shift that could greatly simplify the way we access and process digital information," Helft wrote.