Cloud computing is the latest buzz in the marketing world and in social media. While the term seems relatively new, the concept has been around since the early 1980s, and despite the fact many people who do not consider themselves to be IT experts assume that they are not familiar with this technical term, they probably understand more than they think. Cloud computing first appeared in the lives of average computer users who began using Web-based email such as Yahoo!, Gmail, or Hotmail. People also began taking advantage of the benefits of cloud computing when booking airline tickets and travel accommodations became possible online. Although users might not have known the term, they were, in fact, familiarizing themselves with cloud computing.
Basically, cloud computing aims to provide users with a service: software that is accessible online. Users only need Internet access and a Web browser to use the software provided, and all of the information is stored and processed elsewhere – on the “cloud.” Software or hardware on the user’s personal computer is not needed with cloud computing.
The infrastructure can be broken down into two fundamental parts: the front end and the back end. The front end is the interface that the user views and interacts with. Take Hotmail, for example. Users create accounts, log in, transmit information, and all the data is stored in the user’s Hotmail account, but not on the hard-drive of his computer. No matter what computer or device is used to access the Hotmail account, the information and user account is the same. this is because a software platform has been provided, as a service, by the cloud computing solution. The components of the back end are not viewable (nor are they usually relevant) to the front-end user. The back end is composed of a group of computers, a group of servers, and a data system. Any updates, malfunctions, or glitches of the software are handled solely by the cloud computing solution service on this back end. The user, therefore, only experiences the benefits of the service.
Cloud computing generated the new wave of social media and social media networking, which has had tremendous implications in the world of business and marketing. A memorable and significant emergence of social media is evident through the popularity of MySpace. With MySpace, users could create online profiles, connect and communicate with other users, upload photographs, and share information using cloud computing software – the user’s MySpace account stored no information on his personal computer. The user’s computer could crash and it would not effect the Web-based account. Facebook also soared with popularity, differentiating itself with new features, such as user networks, which could more easily search and connect with other users of the same network, be it university alumni, or people of the same city or country. Currently, Twitter is exploding on the social media scene. Twitter eliminated all of the optional communication and focused its service on allowing users to communicate and stay updated in real time, hence Twitter’s success in the world of broadcast media. Marketers took a keen interest in social media, as it has transformed not only the ease, rapidity, and convenience of communication, but also the overall culture of communication itself.
Cloud computing has not just effected business in the way of social media changes. Since data is able to be recorded and produced on-demand and with such accuracy, cloud computing has greatly benefited the business aspect of customer relationship management as well. Amazon.com provides a perfect example of how cloud computing solutions are mutually beneficial to not just businesses, but the customers as well.
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