Cloud computing in it's simplest description is accessing resources over the internet, be it software, data, or email. The term 'in the cloud' means 'somewhere else', so effectively you have a service which is hosted, stored and maintained by somebody else. These days everyone utilizes some form of cloud computing, be it email (Gmail, Office365), online storage (Dropbox, Amazon) or even services such as Youtube.

• Lower short-term costs;
• No skilled staff/people to manage the service offered;
• Simplified remote workplaces, all you need is an internet connection
• Flexibility. You can change processes, policies, procedures on the fly
• Depending on the cloud service, some will work with all device types and does not restrict you to one type of device (i.e. Pcs, tablets, phones, etc)

• You must have an internet connection to utilize some cloud services. While some services have offline capability, until an internet connection is established, the onus is on you to make sure your data is backed up/synchronized;
• If you are a small business and rely 100% on your cloud services, if your internet connection is to go down or there is an outage with the provider, then you are rendered useless and productivity can be majorly affected;
• Your data is stored on someone else's equipment. This means you, regardless of any agreement signed, are in their hands. If your data is wiped accidentally you have no method of retrieving it if they don't;
• Security. As some cloud services are extremely popular, so is their exposure to vulnerabilities;
• Cloud solutions can often cost you more in the long-term. This can be subjective but often you would need to perform a cost analysis to see if cloud outweighs local;
• Inflexibility. You can be locked in to proprietary software, specific formats and to try to use them on other services/applications simply will not work;
• Support. Many services have limited support available. As these services are offered to a wide audience, this can become generic and some will not have phone support

As mentioned above, some of the types of Cloud services are Gmail, iCloud, DropBox, Xero. They can offer very different types of technologies but there is often a cloud solution for every purpose. Again such as email, storage and accounting.

An IT disaster recovery plan is something that should be given great consideration.

If you do not have one, you should be seeking one immediately. This can save you significant time and money as once disaster strikes (as this unfortunately can happen), you have a contingency plan ready.

One of the misconceptions about disaster recovery is that a backup is the same thing. This is incorrect on many levels. If you have all of your data on one machine and this is backed up, the data is recoverable but if you do not have a replacement machine ready you will be offline for the duration of organizing a replacement machine (either purchasing a new one or on warranty) which can take a couple of weeks. This is a huge failure to plan and can render business inoperable.

A good disaster recovery plan will prepare for such emergencies as this, as well as many other factors.

A computer network simply is where more than one computer is linked to one or more computers via a medium. They can be as simple as two computers linked together through a cable or as complex as highly scalable network such as the internet where all devices have connection to each other. There are many types of networks. Some of the more common types are a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network) and a PAN (Personal Area Network).

Networks are commonly known for use in client-server environments. This is the primary link between devices. Some of the network technlogies involved are Wifi, Bluetooth and ethernet.