Anyone who uses Google mail as a virtual filing cabinet is already a participant in cloud computing, the concept that allows a user to rely on the internet and remote servers for files and applications rather than a local hard drive and a pile of discs.


But the idea is set to become more ubiquitous and comprehensive, driven partly by a recessionary environment that will see smaller companies axe IT budgets, throwing out servers for a cloud solution. This may negatively impact server sales by companies such as Dell, while sidelining proprietary operating systems of Apple and Microsoft. 


G.ho.st (www.g.ho.st), a start-up founded by Israelis and Palestinians, may become the consumer-friendly face of cloud computing. It provides, for free, a ‘virtual computer’, a web-based interface allowing users access to files, documents and online services from any computer with an internet connection. Using a unique login and username any computer, anywhere in the world, will then resemble one’s desktop. Data is saved on a remote server, hence the term ‘cloud’ since the storage remains, to all intents and purposes, invisible. Dr Zvi Schreiber, one of G.ho.st’s founders, believes the company will eventually compete with Microsoft, which only recently launched another version of its soon-to-be-obscured-by-clouds Windows operating system.


In B2B, NYSE-listed hosting company Rackspace recently bought Slicehost and Jungle Disk, specialists in providing virtual servers to small businesses. The needs of small companies are different from private individuals. They require a scalable solution accessible to multiple users from a secure platform with robust back-up facilities. Storage costs in the cloud are currently in the region of €0.10/GB per month.


Rackspace’s chief technical officer, John Engates, told CNBC European Business that businesses moving to cloud computing are like consumers switching from mobile phone contracts to pay-as-you-go. “The cloud is a true utility, in that users pay for the storage they use, not for a dedicated server that may sit idle for half the day.”


Amazon is currently the industry leader in cloud services followed by Google, with Microsoft poised to leap in.