When it comes time to update your systems and you start looking for computers it’s almost maddening at how many there are available, making your choice harder.

Even experts can’t seem to agree, ask 10 different people and get 20 different opinions. Recent developments in the tech industry, more specifically the cloud, are set to make choosing devices a lot easier.

Computers have gone from widely singular machines to being networked together and able to share information between other users quickly and easily. The latest evolution of this network is the cloud. While the cloud is still in it’s early stages, it’s advancing at such a fast pace that we could soon be operating largely in the cloud. In fact, there are a number of services that when combined allow businesses to operate almost entirely in the cloud.

Here’s a simple example of how a company can operate almost exclusively in the cloud. Company XYZ uses Google Drive and Gmail for storage, document production and email (Microsoft Office 365 and SkyDrive is another option); Amazon Web Services for cloud server hosting; and VoIP for phone and fax systems. Couple this with a solid Internet connection and almost every major business function of Company XYZ can operate in the cloud.

While Company XYZ operates almost exclusively in the cloud, many modern businesses still rely on older, ground based systems. If current trends hold true, they will be integrating more cloud solutions in the near future. Because the cloud moves a large part of business and ‘computing’ off the computer on your desk, the way you select your next computer has also changed.

Traditional computer shopping focuses on four things: hard drive space and memory; program availability and integration; hardware specs; and price. Companies running cloud solutions still have to look into these four areas, but in a different way:

Hard drive and memory One might think that as file