Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and more—over the internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.
Key Characteristics:
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On-Demand Self-Service: Users can access computing resources as needed without human interaction from the service provider.
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Broad Network Access: Services are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms (like web browsers).
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Resource Pooling: Computing resources are pooled to serve multiple customers, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned according to demand.
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Rapid Elasticity: Resources can be quickly scaled up or down based on user needs.
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Measured Service: Usage is monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer.
Types of Cloud Services:
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Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Provides virtualized computing resources over the internet (e.g., Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure VMs).
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Platform as a Service (PaaS): Offers hardware and software tools over the internet, typically for application development (e.g., Google App Engine, Heroku).
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Software as a Service (SaaS): Delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft 365).
Types of Cloud Deployment:
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Public Cloud: Services are delivered over the public internet and shared across multiple organizations.
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Private Cloud: Cloud infrastructure is dedicated to a single organization.
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Hybrid Cloud: Combines public and private clouds to allow data and applications to be shared between them.
Benefits:
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Cost Savings (pay-as-you-go model)
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Scalability
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Flexibility & Mobility
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Disaster Recovery
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Security (with proper measures)
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Collaboration Efficiency
Examples:
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Google Drive (storage service)
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Dropbox (file hosting service)
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AWS (Amazon Web Services) for computing and storage needs
