Assignment 5: Cloud Computing Research

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing resources, like storage, servers, databases, networking, or software, over the internet instead of relying only on your personal computer.

Is cloud computing a new technology per se? In other words, what are the unique technology features of cloud computing, if any?

Cloud computing isn't a new technology, it's more of a smart integration of existing ones like virtualization, distributed computing, and high-speed networks. What makes it unique is the on-demand access, elastic scalability (you can scale up or down instantly), and pay-as-you-go model.

What are the three major cloud service models?

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): Renting out raw computing resources: servers, storage, networking. (e.g. AWS EC2).

PaaS (Platform as a Service): A ready-made platform to build and deploy applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. (e.g. Google App Engine).

SaaS (Software as a Service): End-user software delivered over the internet. (e.g. Gmail, Zoom).

Name at least 3 real-world domains where the application of cloud computing was (or can be) very enabling and effective.

Healthcare: Storing and analyzing patient data securely across hospitals.

Finance: Running scalable fraud detection algorithms in real time.

Entertainment: Streaming platforms like Netflix rely heavily on cloud for fast, global content delivery.

What is the economic/business model of cloud computing?

The core business model is pay-as-you-go: you only pay for what you use. This shifts costs from big upfront capital expenses (buying servers, setting up data centers) to smaller, predictable operational expenses. For businesses, this lowers the barrier to entry and makes scaling much easier.