Understanding the Fundamentals of Cloud Computing

Since we were kids we use to share information through CDs or floppy disks and after that USB drives. But still, it wasn’t easy to share common information to as many users at the same time. Today we don’t really have problems like that, largely thanks to Cloud Computing through which we can share and save as many data as possible from anywhere with the help of internet.

Cloud Computing is globally recognized as a solution for sharing and saving information without installing large computers or networks inside an organization. Cloud Computing has shifted the workload from users (who no longer requires doing the heavy lifting of making hardware and software changes) to the computer network that handles the cloud and does all the complex operations. The user only has to run the cloud systems application which could be accessed from a web browser and the cloud network will do the rest.

Cloud computing has 3 basic models that work in a hierarchical way.

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a service)

According to an article on tech-faq.com, In IaaS, virtual machines (i.e. computers) are run by the cloud with access provided to the subscribing organization. PaaS model allows service providers to provide a computing platform that includes a specific operating system (OS), web server, database, and programming language executing environment. In Saas, the service provides application software located in the cloud and end-users access the software via standard web browsers or light-weight client-side applications.

We need Cloud Computing because

1. Accessibility. With Cloud computing, users can access to his information from anywhere at any time through a device, which means a user or employee can work on business trips or from home without any need of carrying documents.
2. 2. Increased Storage. Before the emergence of cloud services, the storage size for devices was limited even if you were carrying a flash drive, it wasn’t enough. But with cloud computing, the user needs not to worry about any storage capacity as most cloud services offer maximum storage to its users.
3. Quick Set-up and Updates. Cloud services provide quick set-up installations of their software as well as updates that are done by service providers which remove the burden of time and cost from organizations.
4. Less Costly. Cloud Computing is very cheap as compared to traditional licensed software. Charges are made on monthly or yearly subscriptions with little cost.

Cloud Computing does offer many advantages to organizations but it has a few drawbacks like security, privacy issues that can easily create problems for your business, but in an overall scenario, those things don’t matter when you want your data to be easily accessed from anywhere.