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As the world continues to change, we in the church are always looking around to see how those changes affect the way we do ministry together.  One major change that is happening behind the scenes in the world of technology is a move to the “cloud”.

 We are in the preliminary stages of considering how this may be able to benefit our church and make it easier for our staff to work together.

 At this point, you may be thinking, “Huh?”  Well, here’s the explanation, and why it matters to us. 

• Years ago, before the appearance of high-speed Internet access, someone came up with the idea that it would be helpful for computers at a workplace to be able to share information with one another.
  • A business would set up a computer that could be on all the time.  This computer, called a “server”, would store information that everyone in the business would use.
  • By putting the server in the same building as the business, information could be transmitted quickly.
  • It was very expensive for every business to have and maintain their own server, but it was the best choice at the time.
  • Now most workplaces – including the Cooperative – have high speed Internet access.
    • Someone came up with the idea that businesses didn’t need to have a server anymore, because they could share information through the Internet instead.
    • It is now possible to run most computer programs, and store and share information, all through a web browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox.  This virtual space is called the “cloud”.
    • Businesses today don’t have to spend huge amounts of money maintaining their own local server, because Internet companies like Google make space in the cloud available for a very low cost — sometimes even for free!

 Why does this matter to us?  We’re currently paying about $5,000 each year just to maintain our computers.  Maintaining our own local server is a major percentage of this cost.  Cloud technology gives us the opportunity to do a lot better!

Cost isn’t the only benefit.  It is surprising to many people that our data could actually be more secure in the cloud that it is on our local server.  Reliability is better – our website and e-mail would be up and working much more of the time.  Staff would also be able to communicate and share information in a more effective manner than we have been able to up to this point.

Why are we telling you this?  For two reasons:

• We want you to know that we appreciate the way you support our church with your financial gifts, and we are seeking to be the best stewards of our resources that we can be.
• We want you to be informed about the way our church works, because we want to be available to answer questions that you might have about how we are responding to life in our changing world.

We welcome your questions!  You can contact Paul Adams, who is leading us in this exploration, at padams@mac-coop.org or 503-883-3264.

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