Rent or Buy? Back to the (Computing) Future

Did you know you could edit a spreadsheet in your browser?  Even Excel?

In the 70's it was called "timesharing." Today it's called The Cloud.  Some differences exist, but the principle is the same. Either you own the computer yourself and take on the care and feeding, or you pay someone else to do it for you. 

What's different compared to the 70's is that some computers you have at home or in the office can be quite capable -- sometimes even more powerful that the resources made available by the outfit renting you the resource. That wasn't true in the 70's. 

What's the same today as it was then? When you rent, just as when you rent a power washer from Home Depot, it's their responsibility to deal with maintenance -- such as patches, anti-malware settings, and --- just maybe, backups. They also absorb the bumps in the road associated with short product life cycles. They will decide when to replace aging computers and network hardware. No need for you to shop around and wonder when it's time to upgrade.

On the other hand, it's a recurring expense that will need to be boiled into the monthly budget. If ever you need to cut back, it will be difficult to live without it.

Microsoft (Office 365) and Google (Cloud Platform) are two big players who have embraced cloud computing, but it was Salesforce.com who made it fashionable before them. And there are many, many firms out there who offer similar products.

More questions about The Cloud ("timesharing")?  Just ask.