un a business and stay Cloud Computing connected, but the implication is that certain applications are commodities. Thus, com- panies such as Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft use their resources, economies of scale, and expertise to offer computer services as a "utility" to organizations and individuals. Cloud Computing for Residential and Small- Business Consumers Small-business and residential consumers have migrated to cloud computing at a faster pace than larger organizations. A major factor in their adoption is the fact that they have fewer resources with which to maintain their own personal computers, protect their networks from viruses and spam, manage e-mail and office applications, and archive documents. Small-business and residential consumers use the Internet for low-cost data backup from providers such as Carbonite and Mozy.com (which is owned by EMC Corpora- tion). Backup services sweep customer computers each night and update the files at the provider's location. Moreover, e-mail providers such as Google have expanded their online capabilities to include calendaring and collaboration. Moving calendaring, collaboration, and office productivity applications online enables customers to access these applications from any device. This way, individuals can use wireless devices, which typically have inherently low storage capacities, to use and share their calendars from any device, at any location that provides Internet access. They've achieved portability by putting files such as calendars and photographs on the Web. Small businesses that use the cloud maintain their own Local Area Network (LAN) for sharing printers and Internet access. They don't need to invest staff time maintain- ing office applications, including word processing, e-mail, and spreadsheet software, as well as collaborative tools. With collaboration software, multiple individuals can view and perhaps even change documents such as presentations and spreadsheets. Peo- ple working remotely can easily collaborate with clients or headquart