Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/199842
48 Information Technology maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2013 2013 Cloud storage AS promised in my last article, I will go into the details of Cloud storage. For those of you who find the term 'Cloud' confusing, it is merely a reference to the internet itself, originating from the symbol of a cloud which is traditionally used to depict a large network in a diagram. The term has been made famous over the last few years when it became a marketing buzzword. Storage is just one of several Cloud services that can be rented by individuals and companies. It is essentially the same as any other data storage but instead of residing locally on the computer's internal or external drive, it is located on the internet, hence the Cloud. How it works Most Cloud storage solutions enable the user to work on a computer in the traditional way… that is, saving documents and data to one or more folders on the local disk. The key difference however is that the user is required to install a software package on the computer which will be responsible for copying all the data from these folders to the Cloud storage account automatically. This method has the benefit Mark Bishop of not imposing any changes to how the users save their data. A Cloud storage account can be used on any computer, as well as most smartphones and tablets. The only requirement is that all computers and devices need to have internet access at some point in order to synchronise the data with the Cloud storage service. Advantages Perhaps the most obvious advantage of Cloud storage is the fact that it can be accessed from anywhere in the world as long as there is any form of connectivity to the Internet. This offers greater flexibility and mobility than any other form of portable data storage, supported by the fact that in today's World the Internet is virtually everywhere, from Wi-Fi in public areas and cafeterias to anywhere with a 3G mobile network coverage. However, access from everywhere is not the only big advantage of Cloud Storage. By design, Cloud storage provides a high level of data protection because it is obviously hosted in a Data Centre with reliable equipment which is configured to be resilient and tolerant to hardware failures, as well as regularly backed up. Another great advantage of Cloud storage is the ability to collaborate with one or more persons on the same data simultaneously because it is easily accessible from any location. Disadvantages Despite the remarkable advantages, Cloud storage also has its disadvantages. The most notable disadvantages are service cost and storage space. These two factors work against each other because cost is directly proportional to storage space. While an internal or external drive in a computer would typically store anything from sev- eral hundreds of Gigabytes to a few Terabytes of data, a typical Cloud storage service would start at about 5 Gigabytes for a limited free account, and 25 – 50 Gigabytes for paid accounts. More storage, usually in increments of 25 – 50 Gigabytes can be purchased on Cloud storage, however this will also multiply the service cost which is normally paid as a monthly or yearly subscription. For this reason, it is advisable to use Cloud Storage only for the most important data. Another notable disadvantage of Cloud storage is the increased se- www.alert.com.mt Mark Bishop is the head of the Alert eBusiness Data Centre Farsons introduces IT team to Belbin concept THE IT team at Simonds Farsons Cisk plc has recently undergone the Belbin Team Role course that provided its participants with the Research and Innovation Funding Opportunities The Commercialisation Voucher Programme The Malta Council for Science and Technology is pleased to announce the launch of the Commercialisation Voucher Programme, financed through National funds. The Commercialisation Vouchers will support researchers, micros and SMEs to seek the commercial potential of their research or to develop their competitiveness through collaboration with R&D institutions. This will promote opportunities for knowledge transfer between industry and academia such that research and innovative solutions aim to have market applicability. The main aim of these Vouchers is to determine the commercial potential of proposed innovative solutions,prior to embarking on research and development. As a result, the inventor benefits from information about the possibility of protecting the idea through intellectual property, as well as gaining awareness on market potential and economic wealth generated for society at large. The Council will be launching the Commercialisation Voucher Programme on Wednesday, 30th October 2013 at 10:00am, at Villa Bighi Kalkara. An Information Session will follow after the official launch. An additional Information Session is being organised on Thursday, 7th November 2013 at 10:30am at Villa Bighi, Kalkara. Interested parties are encouraged to visit the Council's website, www.mcst.gov.mt, where full details of the Programme, Rules for Participation and the application form,can be found. Contact email: voucher.mcst@gov.mt The Malta Council for Science & Technology is the government body responsible for research policy, promoting scientific research, management of the local research funding programme and is the national contact point organisation for the EU Research Framework Programme (FP). curity risk. Since the data is stored on the Internet and distributed across all computers and devices from which it is accessed, the risk of it ending up in the wrong hands is far greater than if the data was to be stored on a single computer. For this reason, it is important to follow certain best practices and to ensure that the Cloud Storage provider has a good reputation when it comes to securing access to users' data. Malta Council for Science & Technology Villa Bighi, Kalkara, KKR 1320 – Malta Tel: 2166 0340 Fax: 2166 0341 knowledge and skills required to bring about improvements in individual as well as team performance. Belbin Team Roles give a framework to explore and increase understanding of collective strengths and how to use these to the best effect. The workshop also helped to increase communication and effectiveness within the team, and helped the participants to take time to re-focus on the challenges that lie ahead. The Belbin Team role was created by researcher and management theorist Meredith Belbin. Belbin team roles are used to identify employee's behavioural strengths and weaknesses in the workplace so as to build productive working relationships, select and develop high performing teams, raise self awareness and personal effectiveness, build mutual trust and understanding and aid recruitment processes."This workshop has created a new level of openness and trust which previously did not exist. After the highly successful workshop organised for our IT team, we are looking at introducing the Belbin concept within other departments in our Company," said Antoinette Caruana, Group Human Resources Manager at Simonds Farsons Cisk plc. "This programme supports our drive to identify employees who are most likely to produce the optimal results," Caruana added.