Cloud computing feels like a new technology that has changed the way we store and access data in the past decade. In reality, it is much older than that. DATAVERSITY brought this topic to our attention in their article, “A Brief History of Cloud Computing.”

In 1963, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) presented the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with $2 million for Project MAC. The requirement was that MIT develop technology allowing for a computer to be used by two or more people simultaneously. The results were gigantic, archaic computers using reels of magnetic tape for memory. This was the precursor to what is now known as cloud computing.

Fast forward almost 55 years and cloud computing has become an important service to customers. Cloud security has advanced significantly in the last two years, and now provides protection comparable to traditional IT security systems.

Melody K. Smith

Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.