According to statistics, cloud computing annual subscriptions will reach a whopping $1.7 billion by 2024 in South Africa alone. That’s saying a lot considering that the annual subscriptions in 2018 only reached a value of $370 million. The forecasts show an annual increase in subscriptions of 29% thanks to the evolution of cloud-based software. Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic forcing businesses to digitally transform and find new ways to share data, the world has been seeing the value in remote working (and remote systems access) for years.
While cloud-based computing is on the rise, so is the rise in companies and private individuals using cloud-based backups to store and protect data.
The future of cloud-based computing is undeniably thought-provoking (not to mention lucrative), but it is the past and how it came to be quite so dominant that really piques the interest.
cloud computing through the times
Many people don’t know this, but the very first sign and use of cloud computing was in the early 1960s. This is when the first remote job entry was put into a computer and various users were able to access the computer from a variety of different locations.
In the mid-1960s, J.C.R Licklider (a computer scientist) along with a psychologist conceived a version of a computer network. This concept was brought to life by Bob Taylor and Larry Roberts in the form of ARPANET, which in many ways was the internet before the internet as we now know it.
The true concept of the “cloud” was drawn up for patents in the late 1970s and 80s when various forms of remote storage were introduced. In the first diagrams of these remote storage concepts, the diagrams of the storage depicted real clouds.
The first time that the term “cloud” was used in a business plan was in 1996 by a company called Compaq Computer Corporation. From there, it seems as if cloud computing took off at a rapid pace with big brands such as Amazon deploying cloud-based applications in the mid-2000s and Google getting on board with things like Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Forms in the late 2000s.
And the rest, as they say, is “history” in the cloud!
cloud backup – an invaluable by-product of cloud computing
Encrypted cloud backup, which is invaluable to businesses nowadays, is a direct result of the Licklider’s cloud computing invention. And with data security in the spotlight in recent times, more businesses and private individuals are subscribing to online cloud backup services. Here’s a brief look at the benefits of cloud backups:
- Remote access to stored documents from anywhere, as long as there is an internet connection available.
- Data stored is encrypted for added security from unscrupulous third parties.
- Automated backups of devices, ensuring minimal effort on the part of employees.
last word
With cloud computing and data encrypted cloud backups being so valuable to the local business and private user, subscriptions to these services (and the security that they offer) look set to increase. To chat with a professional about the benefits of cloud backup in South Africa, get in touch with us at Soteria Cloud.