It's not like "the Cloud" is new at this point. But it certainly has gotten more complex. And with everyone claiming to be on the cloud, cloud-enabled, cloud-based, what does this really mean and how does it affect you?
At Alox, when we say "Full-Cloud" what we're talking about is a system that was designed to run code in your browser, either on a PC or a phone, with data storage hosted on the internet. The end result is it looks like a web site, as least as far as you get to it simply by going to a URL in your browser. But once you're there, it feels like a program, with menus, tools, feature, and settings just like you would expected with an installed application.
Here's what we don't consider to be "Full-Cloud":
- Taking a normal Windows application and putting it in a Virtual Machine that lives on the internet. You have to RDP (remote desktop) to the client and it still has all the same OS maintenance and install issues as if it was installed locally. Technically "cloud"? Yes, but not Full-Cloud, you're just pushing screen pixels everywhere.
- Installing just the server or database portion of the application in a Virtual Machine on the internet, and still needing to install Windows software on your local network. Technically "cloud"? Yes, but not Full-Cloud, you have all the issues you've always had with local installations of software and managing those machines.