Executives frequently ask me: What does it mean to be computing in the cloud? While we techies have our own definitions for cloud computing, executives and owners tend to consider any programs that are not installed on the local computer to be “in the cloud.”

The main idea behind many of the technologies today has two parts:

First, users can have icons on their desktop, click on an icon, and the user is able to work.

Second, it is irrelevant to that user whether that program they launched is:

• Installed on their own PC
• Being pushed down to their PC from a server
• Running on a server on their corporate network
• Being provided by a different company over the Internet.

It is up to the IT professionals to handle the details—the users just have the information and tools they need to take care of your clients and their needs.

Running applications in the cloud normally refers to applications that run through the Internet. Executives sometimes call their internal servers their own personal cloud, and who am I to argue? This especially makes sense to them when their servers are at a data center in a different location than the offices where the users work.

Read more about the pros and cons of computing in the cloud. Please post your comments on this blog.