Emerging Technologies

The age of technology and computers has caused a tremendous shift in the way we do business today. Just 15 years ago, innovations such as the FAX machine, and the Personal Computer were state-of-the-art and considered cutting edge. Today, many businesses and their employees wouldn't be able to function efficiently without these tools. Communications as we know it would almost cease to exist without E-mail, internet, and e-commerce. We have gotten so accustomed to the presence of computers and the services they provide that many of us don't remember what it was like before this technology. Technology is still growing at an extremely rapid pace, and if businesses and industries as a whole want to survive they must keep up with the advancing technologies. The introduction of the smart phone and tablets to the industry are already making changes to the way we conduct business and allowing us to have much more flexibility in the marketplace. With access to so many mobile devices I believe that one of the most important emerging technologies right now is cloud computing; I believe it will completely alter the way traditional business is conducted in the future.

Cloud computing is model for delivering information technology services in which resources are retrieved from the internet through web-based tools and applications, rather than a direct connection to a server. Data and software packages are typically stored in servers, but cloud computing structure allows access to information as long as an electronic device has access to the web. This type of system allows employees to work remotely ("Cloud Computing"). Cloud computing does not require a user to be in a specific place to gain access to it. It will help to reduce the cost of information management, since companies are not required to own their own servers and can use capacity leased from third parties.

One major advantage of cloud computing is disaster recovery. As the