Cloud Computing (also SaaS)

Computing in the cloud may mean that your application in not housed on your server onsite or may mean that your database is not housed on your server onsite, or both.  You or your staff may use software applications or data that is stored in the cloud.

Advantages:

• no server onsite
• no server management (techs) onsite
• no need to increase onsite storage
• transparent upgrades, patches and fixes
• redundancy

Disadvantages:

• You can’t touch it
• You can’t see what’s wrong
• You are trusting others with a most precious asset – your data

Software as a Service (SaaS), another name for cloud computing, means that the software is owned, managed and housed by the vendor, not by your practice or your hospital.

So, just where is this cloud? It’s anywhere else but where you are. It could be in several different places, redundant and backed-up, for protection against downtime or disaster.