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The Cloud, Day 28: My Five Biggest Cloud Complaints

I've found a lot to like about the cloud during my 30 Days experience, but these five things stand out as my biggest issues or concerns.

30 Days With the Cloud: Day 28

It's Day 28 of the 30 Days With the Cloud series. As with previous "30 Days" series, this day is dedicated to recapping the five biggest issues or problems I encountered during the 30 Days journey.


1. Sometimes It's Not 'Cloudy'

The cloud has tons of great tools and services to address virtually any need, which is great...as long as you can connect to the cloud. Living in a large metropolitan area it seems like strong wireless carrier signals, and Wi-Fi hotspots are fairly ubiquitous. But, the unthinkable still happens sometimes, and you just can't connect to the Internet. The more rural or remote you are, the greater the odds and frequency will be.

I like the cloud when it's available, but I don't like being at the mercy of the cloud being available. When I'm flying at 30,000 feet, I still want to play my music, view my photos, and type my next article--and on most flights that won't be possible if I rely on the cloud.

2. Upload Speeds

Broadband providers have drastically increased download speeds in recent years. That's great for things like streaming movies or music from the Web, but it doesn't help you get your movies and music uploaded to the cloud in the first place.


3. Still Need a 'Plan B'


Cloud-based tools and services have developed to the point that they can take on the primary role. However, servers crash and websites get hacked. I don't trust any third-party so much that I'm willing to allow them to store the only copy of my family photos. So, even if I use a cloud-based service as my main photo storage and sharing solution, I am still going to have a second cloud-based service, or local copy as a backup just in case.

4. Sad Productivity Suites



5. Painted Into a Corner



There you have it. I wouldn't say any of them are complete deal breakers. They're more like caveats and warnings you should be aware of if you are going to try and rely strictly on cloud services.



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