Some of the Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

Everything has its pros and cons. Similarly, cloud computing too along with the wide host of advantages, has a number of shortcomings. Some of them have been discussed below and will help you determine the extent to which cloud computing suits your needs.

1. Privacy

Cloud computing makes all of your personal data present on servers. Not just emails, or social networking records but everything will be present on a server that belongs to a third party. The issue of privacy is the first one that pops up. What guarantee does the third party give users that their information will not be trespassed?

2. Security

Powerful servers such as those of Hotmail, Yahoo and Picasa have ample security that protects not only their own information but also that of their users. However, cloud service vendors are relatively small and less immune to external attacks. This puts a question mark on the safety of the clients from malware such as viruses, worms, spyware and trojans as well as deliberate human attacks.

3. Control

Don't you perform different maintenance routines such as Check Disk and Disk Defragmentation on your PC to keep it running efficiently? Such routines maintain your PC's health and give you a better user experience. Cloud computing on the other hand, doesn't permit you to run any such checks, making you heavily dependent on Cloud Service Providers (CPS). Moreover, a common user has very little insight of the contingency procedures that SCPs use such as those related to backup, recovery and restoration.

4. Transferability

Once, a user begins cloud computing on a certain server, and finds that the Cloud Service Providers aren't good enough, he or she lands in a tight spot. It is very difficult to switch on to a different CSP. Hence, all one can do is bear with the flaws of the current CSP.

5. Downtime

Imagine those few seconds when one the websites that you most visit shows a downtime error. The unpredictability of the situation makes you panic and leaves you no option. Imagining the downtime of a Cloud Service Provider is even more terrible because it stops you from accessing your computer at all. No matter how trusted a web server is, it can never be completely safe from downtime errors. Even some of the most famous and trusted websites have gone through downtime. For example Amazon's network experienced a downtime for four long days affecting millions of users starting on February 21, 2011. On February 2, 2011, Gmail and Google Plus had their servers facing the same problem that went on for two days severely affecting their users. Sony too had to shut down the website of the Playstation network for 25 days affecting seven million users on April 21, 2011 after an account of unauthorized intrusion.

The disadvantages mentioned above must be considered before you make your decision to entire shift to cloud computing. It must however be noted that cloud computing is still evolving and will improve with time.