Cloud confusion abounds.

• Position: CLOUD COMPUTING - Brief article

All this talk about cloud computing, and yet, most Americans are confused about what it is and don't realize they are using it daily.

Citrix recently commissioned Wakefield Research to survey 1,000 American adults age 18 and older about cloud computing. The results, published in August, show "the cloud phenomenon is taking root in our mainstream culture, yet there is still a wide gap between the perceptions and realities of cloud computing," according to Kim DeCarlis, vice president of corporate marketing at Citrix.

DeCarlis' observation is supported by the following findings:

* Fifty-one percent believe stormy weather can interfere with cloud computing.

* Nearly one-third (including Millennials) think the cloud is a thing of the future, yet 97% currently use cloud services for such activities as online shopping, online banking, and social networking.

* One in five people pretends to know what the cloud is or how it works, especially...