What is Cloud Computing
With the advancement of technology, the word “cloud computing” has gained a lot of press in the technical world. Cloud Computing is everywhere. What is Cloud Computing?
To put it simply, storing data and programs on servers on the Internet instead of your computer’s hard drive is called Cloud Computing. It includes accessing various services, from applications to data centers, over the internet.
With cloud computing, you are not limited to your own computer or cell phone. Users need not worry about storage and power, they can simply tap the power of large networks and focus on other important tasks.
Cloud Computing for Business
Cloud Computing makes things simpler for businesses by offering flexible resources and economies of scale. The companies pay only for the cloud services that they use, which leads to lower operating costs.
Basic Cloud Computing Services for Businesses are Public Cloud, Private Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Services. The Public Cloud Service is a service for hire, where the company is not responsible for the maintenance of a server. Private Cloud Service is where the company is responsible for the setup and upkeep of the server. The combination of both public and private cloud is popularly known as Hybrid Cloud Service.
Types of Cloud Computing Services
Cloud Computing allows developers to focus on what is important and not have to think about maintenance and capacity management.
SaaS (Software as a Service): Software as a Service provides a complete product that is managed by the service provider.
PaaS (Platform as a Service): Platform as a service allow you to focus on the deployment and management of your applications and offloads management of the underlying infrastructure.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): Infrastructure as a service provides hardware, software, servers, and storage on a pay per use basis.
Cloud Computing Security
Cloud Computing Security is a set of technologies, standards and policies which are designed to protect information and infrastructure in a Cloud Computing Environment. Cloud Computing Security includes both the physical security of the infrastructure and the maintenance of operating system and software security policy. An example of Cloud Computing Security is Amazon Cloud Computing or Amazon Web Services.
Benefits and Features of Cloud Computing
Following are the advantages of Cloud Computing
- Reduced Costs:
Every business, whether small or large, operates to earn more money with less capital. Cloud computing offers a significant reduction in the workload of an organization’s IT team, and as a result leads to the reduction of operation and maintenance costs for the company. The ease of access to data saves not only time but money too.
- Flexibility:
Cloud computing includes being able to easily adjust your computing power and data storage up and down to match your needs, leaving you free to focus on reaching business goals and satisfying customers. Cloud computing offers more flexibility to businesses than a dedicated server and it’s fixed resources. Cloud Computing make a difference in the overall efficiency of the organization.
- Reliability:
Cloud Computing provides more reliability and consistency as compared to internal IT infrastructure. Because the cloud consists of many servers operating as one server, there is no downtime if one server fails. Most Cloud Computing Providers guarantee 24*7 availability along with 99.99% uptime.
- Automatic Updates:
Cloud Computing applications get themselves updated automatically, instead of forcing an IT department to track when updates are needed and perform them manually. This saves valuable time and money. The service provider typically keeps updating the offerings on a regular basis to give users the most up-to-date technology.
- Security:
With Cloud Computing, you need not worry about losing your data and business application. Cloud computing offers more security than local servers. Cloud providers also perform more regular security audits and your sensitive information is secured. As your data is stored in the cloud, it remains safe and can be easily accessed even if something happens to your computer.
- Scalability:
Scalability is one of the greatest benefits of Cloud Computing. Scale up and scale down as per the demand to support fluctuating workloads. If your business needs increase, you can easily increase your cloud capacity without having to invest in physical infrastructure or move your application to a different server.
- Speed:
Cloud computing solutions increase speed across the board, even as time goes on and even if data processing requirements increase. Access to your application and your data is as fast on a cell phone as on your computer.
- Remote Working:
Cloud-based applications and data are accessible from any device connected with internet. Cloud software is mostly accessible through all browsers and mobile devices, making it possible to access your work from any connected device. The employees of a company can access the applications they need remotely.