A recent article in The New York Times documents the struggle of many major tech firms to succeed despite having business models that all but ignore the cloud computing revolution. There are already several companies, including Amazon and Salesforce, which have been successful in capitalizing the move to the cloud, especially as it concerns enterprises. Others, like Microsoft and Dell, have failed in this arena.

One might wonder what all this means for the average consumer and computing professional. If you're investing in a new customized laptop that can handle the demands of your profession, as well as your personal usage, consider the following:

• A lot of data is now being stored online with services like Google Drive, Dropbox and Bitcasa. These services provide a lot of storage space at relatively inexpensive rates, and you might be better served by upgrading to a solid state drive (SSD) for your laptop. SSD might offer fewer gigabytes per dollar, but the read and write times are superior to a traditional hard disk. You can store any data that you want to keep but don't use frequently in the cloud, and keep other items that need to be readily accessible on your SSD for faster viewing.

• When operating on the cloud, having a fast internet connection is more important than ever, so having a WiFi card and router with wireless-N technology - which comes standard on the Apple MacBook  Pro and Air product lines - is critical.

Because every user is different, you'll want to make sure you have a custom laptop that meets your needs specifically. PortableOne can set you up with a notebook that is tailored to your preferences and demands at an affordable price.