What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing means using computers, storage, networks, and software over the Internet instead of keeping them all on your own machine. The cloud provider owns and manages the big servers, and you just connect to them whenever you need. You usually pay for how much you use.
Main features:
- You can get resources on demand without waiting.
- You can access it from anywhere with the internet.
- Resources are shared but each user is kept separate.
- It can scale up or down quickly.
- You pay for what you actually use.
Is cloud computing a new technology?
Cloud computing is not brand new as a technology. The parts like virtualization, networking, and remote storage already existed. What is new is how they all came together at a very large scale with an easy-to-use service model.
Unique things about cloud computing:
- Virtual machines let many users share one physical computer safely.
- You rent resources instead of buying them.
- Huge data centers with global distribution.
- Automation makes scaling and balancing happen fast.
- Many customers (multi-tenancy) can use the same system at once.
- You control things over the internet using APIs.
The three major cloud service models
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) – You rent basic resources like servers, storage, and networks. You handle the operating system and apps.
- PaaS (Platform as a Service) – You get a ready environment to build and run applications without worrying about the underlying servers.
- SaaS (Software as a Service) – You simply use the final software through your browser or app. The provider manages everything behind the scenes.
Real-world domains where cloud computing is very effective
- Healthcare: storing and sharing electronic health records, telemedicine, big data analysis for medical research.
- E-commerce / Retail: scaling online shops during sales, analyzing customer data, managing inventory and supply chains.
- Education: online learning systems, remote labs and simulations, video streaming for classes.
Other strong examples are finance, media streaming, and IoT.
Economic / business model of cloud computing
- Providers spend a lot to build and run huge data centers.
- Customers don't buy servers anymore; they pay only for what they use.
- Main pricing styles are pay-as-you-go, subscription, tiered pricing, or reserved capacity.
- Providers make money by charging fees and subscriptions.
- Customers save money, scale easily, and focus more on their own work instead of maintaining hardware.
- Trade-offs include depending on providers, handling data security, and sometimes higher costs if usage is not managed well.