Availability. Access to information stored on the cloud can be obtained by anyone who has a computer, tablet, any mobile device connected to the Internet.

Mobility. The user does not have constant attachment to one workplace. From anywhere in the world, managers can receive reports, and managers can monitor production.

Economical. The user does not need to buy expensive computers that are large in terms of computing power and software, and he is freed from the need to hire a specialist in servicing local IT technologies.

Leasehold. The user receives the necessary package of services only when he needs it, and pays, in fact, only for the number of functions purchased.

High processability. Large computing power that is provided to the user, which can be used to store, analyze and process data.

Flexibility. All necessary resources are provided by the provider automatically.

Reliability. The reliability that modern cloud computing provides is much higher than the reliability of local resources.

Disadvantages of cloud computing

Permanent connection to the Internet - to access the services of the "cloud" you need a permanent connection to the Internet.

Software Restrictions - The software user has limitations in the software used and sometimes does not have the ability to customize it for his own purposes.

Confidentiality - the confidentiality of data stored on public "clouds" is currently very controversial, but in most cases, experts agree that it is not recommended to store the documents most valuable to the company on a public "cloud", since there is currently no technology that would guarantee 100% confidentiality of stored data.

Classification of cloud services

Currently, there are three categories of "clouds":

1. The public cloud.

2. Private cloud.

3. Hybrid cloud.

A public cloud is an IT infrastructure used by several companies at the same time. Users of these clouds do not have the ability to manage the cloud, all responsibility for these issues is assigned to the cloud service provider. Any company and individual user can become a subscriber of the offered services. A private cloud is a secure cloud infrastructure that is provided for the use of only one organization. An organization can manage a private cloud on its own or delegate this task to an external contractor. A hybrid cloud is a cloud infrastructure that uses the best qualities of a public and private cloud. Often this type of cloud is used when the internal IT infrastructure can not cope with current tasks, as well as to provide users with access to enterprise resources (to the private cloud) through a public cloud.

Basic services of cloud services:

• creating and editing text documents;

• work with spreadsheets;

• creation of electronic presentations;

• creation of simple vector images;

• Email;

• Using the disk space of the provider to store the backup copies of user data.

The main providers of cloud services:

• Google Docs from the Google search engine;

• Office Web Apps from Microsoft;

• iCloud from Apple;

• Dropbox from the company of the same name;

• Amazon Cloud Drive from Amazon.

One of the advantages of "cloud" services can be called the possibility of working together on documents. You can allow your collaborators to view your documents, and if desired, edit the data.

To grant general or selective access to the edited file, click the "Grant Access" button located in the upper-right corner of the Google Docs web interface.

Mobile technologies

Mobile technologies are spreading at an incredibly fast pace and to keep up with them, you need to track their appearance and learn in time. Just a few years ago we thought that there was nothing more beautiful than a stationary telephone, and today we no longer imagine life without a mobile phone. For today, to mobile information technologies it is possible to carry:

• GPS - satellite navigation system.

• GSM and UMTS - communication standards.

• WAP - a protocol by which you can access the Internet from your mobile phone.

• GPRS and EDGE - data transmission technologies.

• Wi-Fi - mobile wireless Internet networks.

• 4G - a new generation of communication.

GPS (Global Positioning System) is a satellite navigation system consisting of 24 satellites operating in a single network, located in 6 orbits about 17 000 km high above the Earth's surface.

GPS receivers do not transmit anything, but only receive data from satellites and determine their location by solving a mathematical problem.

To determine the coordinates of the point where you are, it is necessary that the GPS receiver sees at least four satellites. The more satellites the GPS receiver sees, the more accurately the coordinates are determined.

Satellite navigation in the mobile phone in just a few years has become the norm. Now users not only determine their coordinates, but also can volunteer to show where they are. GPS receiver is very convenient for motorists.

An important place is occupied by GPS in the work of rescue services. GPS allows you to significantly reduce the costs associated with the search operations and significantly reduce the time of rescue operations. The GPS-receivers used by these services cost about $ 3,000 and provide accuracy up to 1 m. There are even more expensive models that provide accuracy up to several centimeters!

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is a global standard for digital mobile communications, with time and frequency division of channels. Developed under the auspices of the European Telecommunication Standardization Institute (ETSI) in the late 1980s.

GSM belongs to the networks of the second generation (2 Generation - 2G)

WAP technology in the mobile market appeared in 1997. WAP allowed installing programs on mobile phones directly from the Internet, without using a cable to connect to a computer.

Since that time, the process of "mobilizing" the society has begun - today every fifth user leaves the Internet exclusively from a mobile device.