In most cases, computer users can access their data on any terminal device installed with cloud software without having to copy the data from one device to another.

"The operations traditionally finished on your own computer are now accomplished by many, many servers, sometimes tens of thousands of servers, and this new technology opens the door to some functions that used to be impossible," said Rui Jianwu, a senior engineer at the Institute of Software of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

For example, when more and more cellphone users connect to a cloud server, it is possible to monitor the passenger flow in different regions in a city at different times of the day, and thus use the data in city planning to avoid an excess concentration of population.