Hey! You! Get off of my cloud!

Techieterm: Clouds or Cloud Computing

Definition: Instead of using the software or programs on your computer, you create, edit and store all your word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, emails, calendars, images, databases etc. on the Internet, using the online software of providers such as Google Docs for free.

Advantages: you can access them from any computer, any time, any where. You don't need a laptop, you can simply use a cybercafe in Torquay or Timbuktu to access all your files and share them with friends or colleagues.

Disadvantages: you need to be online - so you can't work on your documents, for example, on your laptop in the garden if you have no Internet connection. It remains to be seen how easy or not documents (etc.) can be accessed by nefarious hacker-types who want to find out your latest sales figures, business models or the birthday surprise you're planning for Aunt Mabel.

Varieties of 'cloud computing' have, of course, been around for ages... after all, what is Flickr.com if not an online photo album? What is this very 'blogger.com' if not a simplified DTP and distribution option? And it is very easy for individuals to sign up.

However, what are the benefits for companies?

Is it worth putting everything in the clouds and saving on software licenses for every employee's desktop?

Can the hardware be downgraded so that staff only have the most basic computer necessary to go online?

What are the implications for data protection? If I hold my database of clients on a cloud, who has jurisdiction if I fail to meet the laws of my country? I'm based in the U.K. The files I upload might be physically stored on a server owned by Google on a ship moored of the west coast of the USA. Whose law applies?

One part of me wants to encourage my own organisation to move towards clouds... but there's a big part of me that likes to keep physical control of everything. If I want to destroy data, I know that when it's destroyed, it's destroyed... though the ability of the average user to destroy data on their own hard-disc is notoriously slack. So which method of data storage is safer? My password protected desktop that's bolted to my desk in a security controlled office building? Or my password protected online profile with someone like Google or Yahoo!?

Answers on a postcard please....