A Simple Guide to the Cloud

These days, it seems like everyone is talking about the cloud. Although ‘cloud’ is a buzzword right now and is the topic of much conversation, many people struggle to actually understand the cloud, what it is and how it works. A quick search engine query reveals a list of questions like "What is the cloud?" and "How does the cloud work?".

This article will answer your basic questions about the cloud.

What is the cloud?

The cloud is computing resources that you can buy over the internet and pay for as a subscription or metered services. Cloud-based computing resources can be used for anything, data centers, applications, development sandboxes, or backup and recovery.

Benefits of the cloud:

Agile: Meet changing demand with cloud resources that can quickly scale up or down.

Cost effective: You decide how much you can afford and choose cloud services that meet your needs and budget.

Future proof: Cloud resources are built with cutting-edge technology that is continuously monitored, patched, and upgraded. As new technology emerges, cloud resources are updated, so the cloud stays compatible with new file and workload types.

Cost effective: You can buy cloud resources as a metered service

Kinds of cloud

There are three main types of cloud environments, public, private, and hybrid. Each type can be used for different purposes, and all three have unique benefits and limitations. Below are definitions and descriptions for each of the three types of clouds.

Public

Public clouds are owned and run by third-party hosting providers. These cloud providers offer computing resources, like servers and storage across the internet. Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, are all good examples of public cloud providers. In a public cloud, most of the applications, hardware, and infrastructure is owned and managed by the provider. You can access public cloud services and manage your own cloud account using an internet browser, like Chrome or Firefox.

Private

A personal cloud identifies cloud computing tools utilized exclusively by one company or business. A personal cloud could be located on the business's onsite data center. A number of businesses also pay third party support providers to sponsor their personal cloud. A personal cloud is one where the infrastructure and services have been kept on a personal network.

Hybrid

Hybrid clouds unite private and public clouds, combined by technologies that enable applications and data to be shared between the two clouds. By enabling applications and data to maneuver between public and private clouds, a hybrid gives your company more flexibility and greater installation options. The cloud frees your company from any hardware consideration. Hybrid cloud infrastructure can also help you maximize your current infrastructure, safety, and compliance.

Cloud Services - or - Software as Everything

The Collection of cloud computing services is Immense, but Many fall in to one of the following Types.

There is a vast (and growing) expanse of cloud computing services to cover every conceivable business need, but most of them fall into one of the following categories:

Software As A Service (SaaS)

One of the most well known, and widely used cloud services is software as a service (SaaS). With SaaS, software is delivered over the internet and into a browser window. Microsoft Office 365 is an example of SaaS. Many SaaS offerings are highly customizable so they can be adjusted to fit a company’s specific needs.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Put simply, infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a public cloud service that provides compute and storage on a pay-per-use basis. Cloud infrastructure services can include virtual private servers, scalable databases, data analytics, machine learning, and programming tools. Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform are examples of well-known IaaS providers.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Aimed at programmers, platform as a service (PaaS) is a collection of work flows and services that support rapid creation, testing, and implementation of software. Some popular PaaS offerings include, Heroku, Force.com, Cloud Foundry, and Open Shift. In a business setting, PaaS offers several development advantages, like accessible resources, pre-configured templates and environments, and shared repositories. PaaS is available through public cloud providers, like AWS, IBM Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.

Function as a Service (FaaS)

Function as a service, is a newer concept that builds on Paas. Cloud architecture allows for greater flexibility and efficiency. Function as a service (FaaS) uses serverless architectures to enable serverless computing. Instead of using a physical server, an application will use a specifically functional block of code to handle an event (such as a form entry or image upload). The benefit of FaaS software is the efficient use of hardware. Rather than running a server to support an application, resources are used on an as-needed basis. This efficiency matters in the world of pay-as-you-go cloud computing.

Cloud computing offers many benefits, like scalability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. The growing popularity of the cloud helps to explain why it has become such a buzzword today. For more information about the cloud, check out this article, "What is Cloud Computing?"

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