day 671: The Cloud

"Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it."

Everywhere you turn, there is talk of "The Cloud". Amazon made a splash a few years ago when they introduced their cloud services. Salesforce.com is built in the cloud. Box.net markets themselves on the cloud. Apple has put their own name on it with, the "iCloud". It used to be that clouds meant bad weather, or the things that blocked the sun. We counseled people who had their "head in the cloud". But today, business is moving into the cloud and it's the billions of dollar idea. The cloud we are talking about is actually a set of servers that allow for a company or user to not have to have clients and servers to run applications and software. This is a big deal for developers who now don't have to expend money or resources on running their own hardware. For users it puts many applications anywhere that we couldn't get to before unless we were at our own PC. We don't have to understand all of the intricacies of new technology, but it is good that we stay current on where the technology is going and how it can apply in our business. If an organization or business today doesn't explore cloud computing then they are likely to miss out on some real enhancements.

The Bible is full of accounts of clouds and the metaphors that come with them. From the clouds came the rainbow that is a lasting promise today from God. God's voice came from the cloud declaring that Jesus was His Son. Jesus left the earth in a cloud as His disciples watched. The people of Israel found their way through the desert by following the cloud that would tell them it was time to move on in their journey. God was in all of these clouds! There a real clouds and there are the metaphors that teach us lessons. As another daily worKING reminder of who has given us this opportunity to bring glory to God, let's let ourselves be triggered back to think about our Lord when we are hearing about, learning and using our new technology definition of "The Cloud".

Reference: Exodus 40:35-37 (New Living Testament)