With the increased demand and popularity of exchange hosting, more and more people are wondering just what exactly cloud hosting is and what its benefits are.

Cloud hosting, simply, means that files, resources and information are stored on and retrieved on an Internet server, the “cloud”, instead of the user’s local personal computer. This, of course, has a large number of benefits, the least of which being that the user does not have to be in possession of a high end computer to perform high end tasks – he or she can make use of resources that they do not have on their own computer, and all they need to do so is get access to the cloud.

There are many advantages to making use of a cloud. One of them is said to be a decrease in costs associated with capital expenditure. It is also said that cloud computing is much more reliable, since all data is kept on a number of redundant or duplicate hosts, meaning there is a much lower risk of losing any of your data. Also, although all data is kept on multiple hosts, it is maintained at a centralized location and this allows for increased security – defense against worms, Trojans (a type of computer virus) and other threats can be greatly increased at a reduced cost.

Another advantage is the use of a single application by multiple users. Cloud computing allows all users to make use of the same application without it being installed separately on each person’s computer, making it much easier for the application to be maintained and kept at an optimal performance level. One of the greatest advantages is device independence – since all resources are stored and accessed remotely, it does not matter what kind of device the user uses to access the services on the cloud – all they need is a web browser.