What Is Cloud Computing ?

Definition 

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user.

Three Service Models

1. Software as a service (SaaS) – Network Architects

• Just run it for me !
• Also known as on demand service.
• It is an application that can be accessed from anywhere on the globe as long as you have computer with an internet connection.
• We can access this cloud hosted application without any additional hardware or software.
• Also they provide security features such as SSL encryption, a cryptographic protocol.
• E.g. : G-mail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail, etc… 

2. Platform as a service (PaaS) – Application Developers

• Gives us nice API (Application Programming Interface) & take care of the implementation.
• In the PaaS model, cloud providers deliver a computing platform and/or solution stack typically including operating system, programming language execution environment, database and web server.
• It is a platform for developers to write & create their own SaaS i.e. applications.
• Which means rapid development at low cost.
• E.g. : Windows Azure, Heroku, Force.com, Google App Engine, Apache Stratos, etc… 

3. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) – End Users

• Also known as hardware as a service.
• It is a computing power that you can rent for a specific period of time.
• Allows existing applications to run on cloud supplier's hardware.
• Cloud providers offers computers – as physical or more often as virtual machines – raw (block) storage, firewalls, load balancers, and networks. 
• E.g. : AWS EC2, Rackspace, Google Compute Engine (GCE), Digital Ocean, etc...

Types Of Clouds

Private Clouds refers to cloud computing resources used exclusively by a single business or organisation. A private cloud can be physically located on the company’s on-site data center. Some companies also pay third-party service providers to host their private cloud. A private cloud is one in which the services and infrastructure are maintained on a private network.

Public Clouds are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service providers, which deliver their computing resources like servers and storage over the Internet. With a public cloud, all hardware, software and other supporting infrastructure is owned and managed by the cloud provider. You access these services and manage your account using a web browser.

Hybrid Clouds combine public and private clouds, bound together by technology that allows data and applications to be shared between them. By allowing data and applications to move between private and public clouds, a hybrid cloud gives your business greater flexibility, more deployment options and helps optimize your existing infrastructure, security and compliance. 

Community Clouds shares the cloud service model with several organizations to support specific community having similar concerns. It is managed by all the participating organizations or a third party service provider.

Top benefits of Cloud Computing

Reduced Costs

Cloud computing helps you to reduced cost. Because if you are using cloud computing technology for your data access then you don’t have to invest much on the hardware. And accessing of data through cloud computing is also faster than any other source. It makes your work easier.

Flexibility

As your business move on the path of success. You need to growth in your resource too. The storage space, the bandwidth, and everything will need updating. Which required cost and updating your all system will take time. But if you are using cloud technology then you don’t have to worry about the space for your resource. You can do anything for your cloud infrastructure in moments.

Stability

If you are using hardware to store your data and access your data. Then in the case of breakdown, you have to spend time on fixing the system. Which will hamper your work also. But this not happens in the case of Cloud computing technology. Because it’s updated automatically which prevent it from the crash.

Scalability

It is the ability to increase or reduce the performance, resources and functionalities according to user’s needs. We are talking about a very flexible infrastructure, customizable for each company’s requirements and able to respond to specific needs immediately.

Collaboration

This is one of the important features of the cloud. Suppose you are on the other side of the world and your friends is on the other side. And you both having the Internet. Then you both can access each other data without getting any interruption. This also helps you to handle the project of your organization from anywhere. So this keeps the employee collaborates.

Security

If you are using cloud computing for your organization then you are using world best security analysis. But if you are using your own security which is build by your security administration. Then using the both you can judge which is more secure for your organization.

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

Vulnerability to attacks 

Storing data in cloud may pose serious challenge of information theft since in cloud every data of your company is online. Security breach is something that even the best organizations have suffered from and it’s a potential risk in cloud as well. Though advanced security measures are deployed on cloud, still storing a confidential data in cloud can be a risky affair.

Network connectivity dependency

Cloud computing is entirely dependent on the internet. This direct tie up with internet means that you need a reliable and consistent internet service as well as a good connection speed and bandwidth for your business to reap the benefits of cloud computing.

Limited control 

Cloud customers may face limited control over their deployments. The cloud services run on remote servers which are completely owned and managed by the service providers, which makes it hard for the companies to have the level of control that they would want over their back-end infrastructure.

Downtime 

Downtime is considered as one of the biggest potential downside of using Cloud computing. Your cloud providers may sometimes face technical outages which can happen due to various reasons such as loss of power, low internet connectivity, data centers going out of service for maintenance etc. This can lead to a temporary downtime in your cloud services.

Vendor lock in  

When in need to migrate from one cloud platform to another, your company might face some serious challenges because of the differences between vendor platforms. Hosting and running the applications of your current cloud platform on some other platform may cause support issues, configuration complexities and additional expenses. Your data might also be left vulnerable to security attacks due to compromises that might have been made during migrations.

On-Premise V/S Cloud Computing

Top Cloud Computing Service Provider Companies

“The cloud services companies of all sizes… The cloud is for everyone. The cloud is a democracy.”

~ Marc Benioff, Founder, CEO and Chairman of Salesforce.

References 

1. https://www.wikipedia.org/

2. https://www.slideshare.net/

3. https://www.google.com/

Disclaimer

All data, product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All the data, company, product and service names used in this blog are for educational purposes only. Use of these data, names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.