The Cloud is one of those hot topic tech terms that has created a lot of buzz but seems completely ambiguous and vast in regards to what it actually is. We decided to sit down with our Cloud Technical Manager, Lasse Rytilahti, to finally get the scoop on The Cloud.
Basically, The Cloud is a collection of servers, storage and network equipment located in a data centre. Think racks and racks of servers, network and storage devices in a large secure warehouse with a lot of fail-safe systems created to protect the equipment. Then multiply this warehouse and put each warehouse in different locations. Connect the warehouses to the internet and now you have The Cloud.
On top of this hardware, you can run different IT infrastructure services like servers, storage, websites, databases, machine learning, user directories, etc. And if you decide to combine these services you can build products such as e-mail Office365, file storage Dropbox, public websites, PMS booking systems, etc.
The name ‘Cloud’ dates back to the early 90s when the internet was entering its awkward teen years and no one really knew what to do with it or how to use it and what terms they could use to describe all of its infinite capabilities. Basically, someone drew a diagram to show how the internet works and around the term ‘network’ they drew a cloud and thus the term to describe the vast universe of servers and networks and data centres was born. So in layman’s terms: The Cloud started as an illustration to show all the Internet things we can’t actually see.
In 2006, Amazon created something called the ‘Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)’, which was basically a virtual server offering network services and storage for companies. And that’s when The Cloud really became the It Girl of the Internet.
Since the birth of the term ‘Cloud’, it has grown in a more tangible concept with actual buildings dedicated to hosting all the vital data that makes your business run. Hoist Group has its own ‘Cloud’, also called a private cloud. We have several physical data-centre locations, which is where we store your hotel’s data and your guest’s data. Here we also have all the hardware, software, and services for our products like HSIA, Dashboard, HotSoft8, Serviator, etc.
Instead of having your business’ critical IT systems and data in a small server room at your hotel, you can safely store it in The Cloud to secure it and have better uptime. We take care of the core services for your Wi-Fi, booking, back-office systems for you.
Furthermore, the integrity and security of our customers’ data are very important to us and we do everything to protect and secure it. If you’re interested in learning more about The Cloud and how we can best store your important data, feel free to contact us.