ries such as India and the Philippines, which have lower operational and labor costs. Tasks such as software maintenance and database upgrades became cheaper to perform. The following factors have enabled the emergence of remote computing and con- tribute to its cost-effectiveness across a multiplicity of sophisticated data functions: Higher-speed, less-costly Internet access Multiprocessing computers or servers that are able to support various operat- ing systems and applications simultaneously Lower-cost memory Vast amounts of spare computing capacity at technology companies such as Amazon and Google Data storage, remote computer backup, and applications such as e-mail for busi- ness and residential customers are examples of cloud computing applications that take advantage of the vast, low-cost computer resources accessible via the Internet. Links between the Cloud and Customers The integration hooks that link a customer's computers to developers is one reason that security is a critical concern to cloud users. Integration hooks are Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). APIs are used to give disparate computer systems the access and capability to exchange certain data with other computers. These hooks are essentially software translators that interpret commands between dissimilar computer programs. This enables enterprise customers to link their computers to those of the cloud provider and developers, even if they are completely different systems. Computing and Enabling Technologies It requires a high degree of trust for an organization to grant a vendor access to its data. Security is also a concern because data from multiple customers are on the same servers at the provider's data centers. Although for a higher fee it is possible for an organization to have its data isolated on a single server and not shared with other customers, it is more likely that data from multiple customers will be located on the same servers. An anonymous IT professional once stated that staff members were adamant in their procla