What is cloud computing and it's benifits.

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the internet instead of your computer's hard drive. In the past, people would run applications or programs from software downloaded on a physical computer or server in their building. Cloud computing allows people access to the same kinds of applications through the internet. Cloud computing is based on the premise that the main computing takes place on a remote machine that is not currently being used. Data collected during this process is stored and processed by remote servers (also called cloud servers). This means the device accessing the cloud doesn't need to work as hard. By hosting software, platforms, and databases remotely, the cloud servers free up individual computers' memory and computing power. Users can securely access cloud services using credentials received from the cloud computing provider.

Cloud Services-

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): Instead of users installing an application on their device, SaaS applications are hosted on cloud servers, and users access them over the Internet. SaaS is like renting a house: the landlord maintains the house, but the tenant mostly uses it as if they owned it. Examples of SaaS applications include Salesforce, MailChimp, and Slack.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): In this model, companies don't pay for hosted applications; instead, they pay for the things they need to build their own applications. PaaS vendors offer everything necessary for building an application, including development tools, infrastructure, and operating systems, over the Internet. PaaS can be compared to renting all the tools and equipment necessary to build a house instead of renting it. PaaS examples include Heroku and Microsoft Azure.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): In this model, a company rents the servers and storage they need from a cloud provider. They then use that cloud infrastructure to build their applications. IaaS is like a company leasing a plot of land on which they can build whatever they want – but they need to provide their own building equipment and materials. IaaS providers include DigitalOcean, Google Compute Engine, and OpenStack.

Function-as-a-Service (FaaS): FaaS, also known as serverless computing, breaks cloud applications down into even smaller components that only run when they're needed. Imagine if it were possible to rent a house one little bit at a time: for instance, the tenant only pays for the dining room at dinner time, the bedroom while they're sleeping, the living room while they're watching TV, and when they aren't using those rooms, they don't have to pay rent on them.

Uses and purpose of cloud computing

One of the cloud's most basic functions is file storage. Using a cloud storage solution, you can store and access any of your important files, all from the cloud. This allows you to access your files from any computer that has an Internet connection. This should offer flexibility, especially for employees while they are traveling. Most cloud providers utilize robust security policies to ensure that your data remains safe in the cloud.

Disaster recovery can be extremely difficult for small businesses. In fact, many businesses would have to go out of business if they lost all of their important data in a disaster. By hosting your data in the cloud, you’re protected from any type of disaster – big or small.

Another use of cloud computing similar to disaster recovery is backup. Most small business owners do not have proper backups in place should something happen to their computer systems. By utilizing a cloud solution, all of your data is backed up and protected in the cloud, should a problem arise at any time.

One of the major concerns of every business, regardless of size and industry, is its data security. Data breaches and other cybercrimes can devastate a company's revenue, customer loyalty, and brand positioning. Cloud offers many advanced security features that guarantee that data is securely stored and handled. Cloud storage providers implement baseline protections for their platforms and the data they process, such as authentication, access control, and encryption. From there, most enterprises supplement these protections with added security measures of their own to bolster cloud data protection and tighten access to sensitive information in the cloud.

Cloud services are available on-demand and often bought on a "pay-as-you-go" or subscription basis. So you typically buy cloud computing the same way you'd buy electricity, telephone services, or Internet access from a utility company. Sometimes cloud computing is free or paid-for in other ways. Just like electricity, you can buy as much or as little of a cloud computing service as you need from one day to the next.

So, Concluding, Enterprises recognize cloud computing benefits and see how they impact their production, collaboration, security, and revenue. By using a cloud-based solution, an enterprise can prevent many problems that plague organizations that rely on on-premises infrastructure.

Cloud computing involves delivering several diverse services through the Internet. Resources like data storage, servers, databases, networks, and software are used in cloud computing.

In simple words, cloud computing facilitates people to use several online services through any device connected to the internet.

The main purpose of cloud computing is to let users benefit from the various technologies even without having any deep knowledge or expertise about them.

The cloud helps cut down costs and allows the users to focus on their core business instead of being held back by the various.

In simple words, we can say that cloud computing is about storing the files and resources on a server hosted by third parties (instead of local servers or computers) and then accessing it from anywhere in the world with the help of the internet. Cloud computing makes IT infrastructure along with its services available "on-need" basis. The cloud technology includes - a development platform, hard disk, computing power, software application, and database.

In other words, cloud computing refers to applications and services that run on a distributed network using virtualized resources and uses the standard internet protocols for accessing.

Talking about the uses and services offered by cloud computing, there are three main cloud service models:-

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 by a third-party host. These are sometimes referred to as web-based software, on-demand software, or hosted software.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)- Platform as a Service (PaaS) refers to cloud computing services that supply an on-demand environment for developing, testing, delivering, and managing software applications. PaaS has a similarity with that of SaaS, except that SaaS delivers software over the web, whereas PaaS provides a platform for creating software delivered over the web.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)- This is the most basic category of cloud computing services. With IaaS, you rent IT infrastructure – servers and virtual machines (VMs), storage, networking, operating systems – from a cloud provider on a pay-as-you-go basis. One word, it is the only layer of the cloud where the customer gets the platform for their organization to outsource IT infrastructure on a pay-per-use basis.

Benifits of cloud computing

The reason behind why Cloud computing is trending is very generic;-.

a) We get an on-demand environment for developing, testing, delivering, and managing software applications.
b) We can rent IT infrastructure – servers and virtual machines (VMs), storage, networking, operating systems from cloud providers.
c) We can get software applications over the Internet, on-demand, and on a subscription basis.
d) Besides these services, cloud computing proves to be cost-effective for organizations.

********************

Source: Wikipedia, Sumita Arora book, internet.

Timing:11:00 am -11:20 am

Date: 19/07/21

By: Shivam Kumar Ranjan

Email: @[email protected]