By Ryan BevinsNovember 28th 2020

In the early years of our country, when people dispersed to colonize the new world, the coastal towns were prime real estate. Not only did they offer access to the sea for transportation, but it also gave its inhabitants direct access to the fish in the sea that became a highly profitable business and source of food.

Accordingly, in the mid-19th century, as prospectors made their way west in search of gold and oilmen made their way south in search of oil, fishermen moved to islands off the shores of coastal towns to live closer to their precious resource. Living on an island afforded fishermen and their families easy access to the sea and prime fishing spots without the hassle of having to sail great distances every morning and back home each night.

However, the great industrial boom of the 20th century included the invention of motor boats. This allowed many in the fishing industry to move off of islands back to coastal towns that are closer to big cities, and still reach their fishing grounds in a timely manner. Alas, the island towns of America shrunk in size, but their traditions remained and like a trusty lighthouse in the fog, technology is finally coming home to help these small island towns develop.

Alaska is most known for being the largest state in the country. While "The Last Frontier" of Alaska has remarkable terrain, it also has the most islands of any state in the United States and is known for its famous Alaskan King Crab. Likewise, Maine, on the east coast, has 4,600 islands and is known for lobster and its world-famous lobstering business.

How can small island towns operate effectively when many are only accessible in the summer months? How can the fishing, crabbing, and lobstering businesses in these towns flourish if they are only accessible by boat or seaplane? The answer is cloud computing.

Before cloud computing, if a computer needed to be serviced or software needed to be upgraded, the chances of getting a qualified technician out to these remote islands could often take days. The other option would be to buy an overstock of computer equipment that they may not be able to afford or use and could quickly become outdated. Cloud computing solves all of these issues. Shared resource pooling, on-demand self-service, and "pay as you go", where you only pay for what you use, has brought the leisure back to island life.

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