Cloud storage may sound like a vague, nebulous idea but in reality it is a simple means of storing data. In fact, you are most likely already familiar with some services that offer cloud storage, perhaps the most well known being the social networking site, Facebook. How is it that Facebook is a cloud storage center? Simple, cloud storage is the storage of data to an off-site system. The data and information stored in this off-site storage system is then managed by a third party. Thus, when you upload photo albums to Facebook, you are in essence using a form of cloud storage. Additionally, sites such as Google Docs or Flickr afford users the same opportunity to store data which is managed elsewhere.

If you are able to use an external hard drive or devices such as USB, why is cloud storage necessary? Cloud storage has quite a few advantages over other methods of storing or backing up data. The primary advantage to using cloud storage systems is the ease with which you are able to retrieve data and the subsequent accessibility of your information. When you use a cloud storage system, you are able to access your data from anywhere that has an Internet connection. In addition, you do not need to worry about carrying any physical devices with you in order to access your data.

In the most basic terms, cloud storage systems generally require only one data server connected to the Internet. Of course, most cloud storage systems have large, physical warehouses that hold all of the equipment necessary. Cloud storage services receive copies of files from clients, the people subscribing to the system, and then record the data. When clients want to access their information, they simply connect to the data server using a Web-based interface.

The primary concern that most clients have prior to trusting their personal data to a cloud storage system is security. While clients wish to be able to access their data at a moment's notice, they do not wish for others to have this same access. Cloud storage systems address the issue of privacy and security with a number of measures that guard information. Firstly, data sent to a cloud storage system by a client undergoes encryption. Encryption is simply the use of complex algorithms to encode data. Clients are able to access their data through the use of an encryption key. In addition to data encryption, users are required to log-in to retrieve data which requires the use of a personal user name and password. Cloud storage systems also limit who has access to data sent by clients. Large cloud storage systems have multiple levels of authorization. The client lists those people who are authorized to view their information.

Cloud storage is a highly reliable and effective way to store data without the fear of computer crashes, computer theft or other unforeseen events such as power failures. Using a cloud storage service, such as Ross Backups, allows clients to quickly and effortlessly access data from any location in the world.