$\"\"$ <\/a>

Table 1: Key categories of cloud services (Source: ICT Pulse)<\/p><\/div>\n

From the examples provided in the above table, the average person\u00a0should already be familiar with some cloud services, and might even\u00a0be using some of them quite regularly, to the point where they are taken for granted. Since some of these services are free, or at the very least economically priced, we are often quite eager to use them. However, it is still important for you\u00a0(the\u00a0individual user) to read the fine print and to think about whether the service truly suits your needs.<\/p>\n

Key considerations\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Although cloud services can offer consumers convenient access to a variety of resources, and to varying degrees can be highly cost effective, as a starting point,\u00a0the following issues should be carefully considered.<\/p>\n
1. \u00a0Privacy and security.<\/strong>\u00a0 It is important to determine how secure and what privacy rules your data might be subject to.\u00a0For free services in particular, some providers include clauses that allow them to access and use a customer\u2019s data,\u00a0especially for marketing purposes, or to retain that data even after the customer is no longer using their services. Additionally, depending on the country in which the data is being stored, there might be highly intrusive laws that allow government agencies to intercept messages and other forms of data.\u00a0 Although you might not necessarily have anything to hide, you may still feel violated if you become aware of such matters after the fact.<\/p>\n
2. \u00a0Reliability of cloud provider. \u00a0<\/strong>Due to the relatively low cost and availability of computing and Internet resources, there are numerous businesses offering cloud services. However, there have been examples of cloud businesses closing down, sometimes without giving\u00a0 their customers any notice. Hence customers find that the service has been terminated, but they have little or no opportunity to retrieve or remove their data. It is therefore critical to research cloud providers to determine, among other things, their reputation and the quality of the services they offer.<\/p>\n
3. \u00a0Lock-in.<\/strong>\u00a0Depending on the service, cloud providers regularly\u00a0store data in a proprietary format. If data must entered directly into the programme, in particular, a customer may find him\/herself locked-in to a specific provider. The format might not be used by other providers or off the shelf software application, or there might be no way easy way to retrieve the data off the provider\u2019s server, in order for it to be imported into another application.<\/p>\n
The above points address some of the key matters that should be considered by the individual consumer. However, for further information on cloud computing, please refer to some of our earlier posts:<\/p>\n
\n
Is it really in the Clouds? How 5 stated trends in Cloud Computing really stack up<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
10 things to consider before you migrate to cloud services<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
25 questions to ask before you sign up for cloud services<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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