Cloud computing has taken the world by storm, and for good reason. It’s a meaningful and effective way to provide software and computer resources to people around the world. That’s why businesses and enterprises at all levels are using cloud computing for different needs.
It is widely known that cloud storage does not contain big data. Instead, it deals with physical servers and operating systems. But more than that, cloud solutions can seem a little daunting to many Americans and frontline workers.
Below is a breakdown of everything you need to know about cloud computing, including what it is, how it works, and the types of cloud computing you may encounter.
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cloud computing explained
Cloud computing is an Internet-based service that delivers platforms, applications, and other IT resources from one device to another on demand.
Without cloud computing, companies would typically have to create or buy software and host it in their own data centers, servers, hard drives, or computers. For example, a company may purchase project management software and use discs to install the software.
Instead, cloud computing sends the information needed by software (such as a project management platform) over the Internet, and corporate computers access it on the fly.
The company’s computers are connected to the Internet, access the servers of project management software providers, and project management software information is downloaded directly to these terminals.
In this way, cloud computing enables organizations of all sizes to access IT resources without having to purchase, own, or maintain the data centers and services required to perform their IT tasks.
Cloud computing enables organizations to save more bandwidth and money, and to access open source data without having to house large computer mainframes onsite.
Related: 4 ways to grow your business with cloud computing
How does cloud computing work?
Cloud computing enables client devices, such as computer terminals, to access cloud applications and data over the Internet. These applications and data are stored on remote (offsite from the end client) servers or computers.
In cloud computing solutions, the front end, such as a company’s computer terminals, is connected to the Internet, which in turn connects to the back end, such as a cloud service provider.
Cloud service providers maintain servers, computers, and databases where information, apps, and platforms are stored.
The frontend and backend communicate over the internet through a central server. Servers use specific protocols and are commonly used to exchange data quickly and seamlessly.
Meanwhile, businesses and end users don’t need to maintain an on-premises IT infrastructure. These businesses can complete workloads, optimize productivity, use modern development tools or cloud security tools, and take advantage of sensitive data storage from Amazon Web Services to other businesses.
If this sounds futuristic and highly technical, it is because it is. Modern cloud computing relies heavily on automation technology and virtualization. However, cloud computing is now reliable and beneficial enough for many organizations and purposes to purchase and install software on their home computers.
Related: Still have questions about cloud computing?
Types of cloud computing
Technically, you or your business can pursue different types of cloud computing. Here’s a breakdown of the key types of cloud computing:
SaaS — software as a service
SaaS or Software as a Service Cloud computing, as the name suggests, is the delivery of software services, such as programs and applications, over the Internet. For example, Microsoft Office 365 is one of his SaaS applications.
Additionally, the majority of enterprise-level applications such as Oracle’s and SAP’s ERP suites are available in SaaS format on the cloud.
Either way, SaaS cloud computing is the most common type of cloud computing. This is because businesses can remotely access important programs and apps without having to install or purchase the app on their home computer.
IaaS — Infrastructure as a Service
IaaS or infrastructure-as-a-service cloud computing provides virtualized storage, networking, and computing power over the Internet on a case-by-case or pay-as-you-go basis. For example, if you need additional resources for your server, you can get them from your cloud computing provider.
Then, when your website or server traffic has decreased, you can relinquish those resources and “give back” to your cloud computing provider.
This way, you only pay for the cloud infrastructure or IT resources you need, so no money is wasted. This type of cloud computing is generally part of what makes cloud computing so scalable and flexible.
PaaS — Platform as a Service
PaaS or platform-as-a-service cloud computing provides services and workflows for developers who often create, test, and deploy applications using a variety of processes, tools, and APIs.
Salesforce Platform and Salesforce Heroku are examples of PaaS offerings, as are OpenShift and Cloud Foundry.
FaaS — Function as a Service
FaaS (Cloud Computing as a Service) is technically serverless computing. It is also mostly used by developers.
This type of cloud computing service prevents developers from seeing or changing anything below the code stack. This way, developers can focus on uploading functional blocks of code and combining them with other processes or code chunks. FaaS products include AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and IBM Cloud Functions.
What is a private cloud
A private cloud is a private network that uses the same technology as common clouds and public clouds. Large companies may have their own private cloud by hosting and maintaining their own servers or databases.
Then, instead of installing software one by one on each computer in that company, you can simply connect those computers to a server or database and remotely get the SaaS solution you need through cloud computing.
What is hybrid cloud?
A hybrid cloud is a combination of a public cloud and a private cloud. It’s created by creating different parallel environments that make it easy to move apps and data between private and public clouds.
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of Benefits of cloud computing
Cloud computing has many important advantages that make it a very important factor in modern business.
affordable
First of all, cloud computing is often more cost-effective for businesses. Instead of building, maintaining, and upgrading expensive servers and databases, businesses can spend on renting IT resources and applications from cloud computing providers.
It is often much cheaper to do this than not only to buy the hardware necessary to maintain your own computer network, but also to pay the salaries of IT maintenance workers.
Agility and Flexibility
Moreover, cloud computing is much more agile and flexible than other computing solutions. For example, if a company urgently needs a new cybersecurity product, it can request a security service or platform from a cloud computing provider instead of purchasing software and physically installing it on each device.
Scalability
Then there’s scalability. The ability to request and use resources as quickly as needed without spending time and money to pre-build the necessary infrastructure.
When your growing business suddenly experiences a spike in website traffic, cloud computing can help you get the server resources you need instantly. Then, when traffic drops again, businesses can relinquish those server resources, thus contributing to the aforementioned affordability.
remote access
Cloud computing enables employees and workers around the world to access the same data, applications, and platforms as long as they are connected to the Internet.
This is part of what has facilitated effective and efficient remote work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and is likely to remain an integral part of the modern workforce for years to come.
DevOps organizations can use the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT) to perform coding and other software development/application development tasks remotely.
Related: The Benefits and Importance of Cloud Computing for Technology Entrepreneurs
Security and reliability
Finally, cloud computing enhances organizational security and reliability. As mentioned earlier, cloud computing enables security providers to offer security services such as monitoring, firewalling, and even security programs to far-flung organizations.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence are an important part of many security cloud platforms and public cloud services.
But organizations can also use cloud computing to back up files automatically or remotely to protect key customer and corporate data from crashes, cyberattacks, and other damaging incidents.
Given the increasing importance of cybersecurity and consumer trust, it’s no surprise that many businesses rely on cloud computing for all their online security needs.
Disaster recovery is a cloud native feature and has many potential use cases. Properly upgrading your cloud resources can prevent your business from suffering outages and real-time threats.
Cloud computing is a revolutionary network computing that delivers software programs, platforms, and raw computing resources to devices and workstations from anywhere in the world.
Thanks to cloud computing, businesses and online operations have never been more flexible and efficient.
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