What is Cloud?
Cloud is a cloud computing service offered by IT companies, providing servers, storage, network, applications and services through a global network of their managed data Centers. The company allows these services to be provisioned on demand over the Internet. In other word, The cloud refers to software and services that run on the Internet, instead of locally on personal computer or companies owen servers. Cloud services can be accessed through a Web browser like Internet explorer or Google Chrome, and dedicated mobile apps.
Few examples of cloud services include Google Drive, Snapchat, Netflix, Yahoo Mail, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive.
The advantage of the cloud is that you can access your information on any device with an Internet connection. It’s what allows you to make edits to a file in Microsoft OneDrive on your home computer, and then pick up where you left off when you get to the office.
I would say big benefit of the cloud is that, because the remote servers handle much of the computing and storage, companies don’t necessarily need an expensive, high-end machine to get work done. In fact, some companies are making cloud-based computers as a low-cost option for consumers and the education market, the most notable example of this being Google’s Chromebooks.
What Microsoft says about Cloud ? Simply put, cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, intelligence and more—over the Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. You typically pay only for cloud services you use, helping lower your operating costs, run your infrastructure more efficiently, and scale as your business needs change.
Types of cloud computing:
Public clouds are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service providers, which deliver their computing resources like servers and storage over the Internet.With a public cloud, all hardware, software, and other supporting infrastructure is owned and managed by the cloud provider. You access these services and manage using a web browser.
A private cloud refers to cloud computing resources used exclusively by a single company or organization. A private cloud can be physically located on the company’s on-site datacenter. A private cloud is one in which the services and infrastructure are maintained on a private network.
Hybrid clouds combine public and private clouds, bound together by technology that allows data and applications to be shared between them. By allowing data and applications to move between private and public clouds, a hybrid cloud gives your business greater flexibility, more deployment options, and helps optimize your existing infrastructure, security, and compliance.
Types of cloud services
Most cloud computing services fall into three broad categories: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS). These are sometimes called the cloud computing stack because they build on top of one another.
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
- The most basic category of cloud computing services. With IaaS, you rent IT infrastructure—servers and virtual machines (VMs), storage, networks, operating systems—from a cloud provider on a pay-as-you-go basis.
- In an IaaS model, a third-party provider or infrastructure service provider hosts hardware, software, servers, storage and other infrastructure components on behalf of its users.
Platform as a service (PaaS)
- Platform as a service refers to cloud computing services that supply an on-demand environment for developing, testing, delivering, and managing software applications. PaaS is designed to make it easier for developers to quickly create web or mobile apps, without worrying about setting up or managing the underlying infrastructure of servers, storage, network, and databases needed for development.
Software as a service (SaaS)
- Software as a service is a method for delivering software applications over the Internet, on demand and typically on a subscription basis. With SaaS, cloud providers host and manage the software application and underlying infrastructure, and handle any maintenance, like software upgrades and security patching. Users connect to the application over the Internet, usually with a web browser on their phone, tablet, or PC.