What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system
resources, especially data storage and computing power, without
direct active management by the user. The term is generally used to
describe data centers available to many users over the Internet.
Large clouds, predominant today, often have functions distributed over multiple
locations from central servers. If the connection to the user is relatively
close, it may be designated an edge server.
Cloud computing is renting resources, like storage space or
CPU cycles, on another company's computers. You only pay for what you use. The
company providing these services is referred to as a cloud provider. Some
example providers are Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
Earlier we used to store our data in hard drives on a
computer. Cloud Computing services have replaced such hard drive technology.
Cloud Computing service is nothing but providing services like Storage,
Databases, Servers, networking and the software through the Internet.
Few Companies offer such computing services, hence named as
“Cloud Computing Providers/ Companies”. They charge its users for utilizing
such services and the charges are based on their usage of services.
Generally, cloud computing services are categorized into
three types.
1) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): This service
provides the infrastructure like Servers, Operating Systems, Virtual Machines,
Networks, and Storage on rent basis.
Like Amazon Web Service, Microsoft Azure
2) Platform as a Service (PaaS): This service is used
in developing, testing and maintaining of software. PaaS is same as IaaS but
also provides additional tools like DBMS and BI service.
Like Apprenda, Red Hat OpenShift
3) Software as a Service (SaaS): This service makes the
users connect to the applications through the Internet on a subscription basis.
Like Google Applications, Salesforce
Below mentioned are the top Cloud Computing Companies which provide best services:-
and many more.
Cloud computing isn't an all-or-nothing service approach.
Companies can choose to use the cloud to store their data and execute logic as
much, or as little, as necessary to fulfill their business requirements.
Existing businesses might choose a gradual movement to save money on
infrastructure and administration costs (referred to as "lift and
shift"), while a new company might start in the cloud.
Let's learn some of the top benefits of cloud computing.
Cloud computing provides a pay-as-you-go or
consumption-based pricing model.
This consumption-based model brings with it many benefits,
including:
No upfront infrastructure costs
No need to purchase and manage costly infrastructure that
you may not use to its fullest
The ability to pay for additional resources only when they
are needed
The ability to stop paying for resources that are no longer
needed
Paper bill and a cloud representing cost effectiveness
This also allows for better cost prediction. Prices for
individual resources and services are provided so you can predict how much you
will spend in a given billing period based on your expected usage. You can also
perform analysis based on future growth using historical usage data tracked by
your cloud provider.
You can increase or decrease the resources and services used
based on the demand or workload at any given time. Cloud computing supports
both vertical and horizontal scaling depending on your needs.
Vertical scaling, also known as "scaling up", is
the process of adding resources to increase the power of an existing server.
Some examples of vertical scaling are: adding more CPUs, or adding more memory.
Horizontal scaling, also known as "scaling out",
is the process of adding more servers that function together as one unit. For
example, you have more than one server processing incoming requests.
Growth chart representing scalability
Scaling can be done manually or automatically based on
specific triggers such as CPU utilization or the number of requests and
resources that can be allocated or de-allocated in minutes.
As your workload changes due to a spike or drop in demand, a
cloud computing system can compensate by automatically adding or removing
resources.
For example, imagine your website is featured in a news
article, leading to a spike in traffic overnight. Since the cloud is elastic,
it automatically allocates more computing resources to handle the increased
traffic. When the traffic begins to normalize, the cloud automatically
de-allocates the additional resources to minimize cost.
Point graph representing elasticity
Another example is if you are running an application used by
employees, you can have the cloud automatically add resources for the peak
operating hours during which most people access the application, and remove the
resources at the usual end of the day.
When you use the cloud, you're able to focus on what
matters: building and deploying applications. Cloud usage eliminates the
burdens of maintaining software patches, hardware setup, upgrades, and other IT
management tasks. All of this is automatically done for you to ensure you're
using the latest and greatest tools to run your business.
Calendar representing staying current
Additionally, the computer hardware is maintained and
upgraded by the cloud provider. For example, if a disk fails, the disk will be
replaced by the cloud provider. If new hardware update becomes available, you
don't have to go through the process of replacing your hardware. The cloud
provider will ensure that the hardware updates are made available to you
automatically.
When you're running a business, you want to be confident
your data is always going to be there. Cloud computing providers offer data
backup, disaster recovery, and data replication services to make sure your data
is always safe. In addition, redundancy is often built into cloud services
architecture so if one component fails, a backup component takes its place.
This is referred to as fault tolerance and it ensures that your customers
aren't impacted when a disaster occurs.
Certificate representing reliability
Cloud providers have fully redundant datacenters located in
various regions all over the globe. This gives you a local presence close to
your customers to give them the best response time possible no matter where in
the world they are.
You can replicate your services into multiple regions for
redundancy and locality, or select a specific region to ensure you meet
data-residency and compliance laws for your customers.
Globe representing multiple datacenters
Think about how you secure your datacenter. You have
physical security – who can access the building, who can operate the server
racks, and so on. You also have digital security – who can connect to your
systems and data over the network.
Cloud providers offer a broad set of policies, technologies,
controls, and expert technical skills that can provide better security than
most organizations can otherwise achieve. The result is strengthened security,
which helps to protect data, apps, and infrastructure from potential threats.
Lock representing security
When it comes to physical security – threats to cloud
infrastructure, cloud providers invest heavily in walls, cameras, gates,
security personnel, and so on, to protect physical assets. They also have
strict procedures in place to ensure employees have access only to those
resources that they've been authorized to manage.
Let us talk about digital security. You want only authorized
users to be able to log into virtual machines or storage systems running in the
cloud. Cloud providers offer tools that help you mitigate security threats, and
you must use these tools to protect the resources you use.
Summary
Cloud computing makes running a business easier. It's
cost-effective, scalable, elastic, current, reliable, and secure. This means
you're able to spend more time on what matters and less time managing the
underlying details.
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