What Is Cloud Computing? An Introduction

Cloud computing promises digital transformation. This innovation has completely transformed our perception of the digital realm, moving beyond the siloed, on-premises setups of the past to a more flexible and responsive arrangement that relies on scalable resources.

The use of the term 'cloud' may be evocative, but many people struggle to understand what it exactly involves or why it matters. To that end, we will clarify what cloud computing is and where it is headed.

Continue reading to explore the current realities of cloud computing and how, with the proper training, it can serve as the foundation for an exciting and impactful career in IT.
 

What Is Cloud Computing?

The cloud is a global network featuring a distributed series of remote servers. Cloud servers can store and process a wealth of data, which can be easily accessed via the Internet. This limits organizations' reliance on physical hardware, which can be difficult and costly to maintain.

So, what is cloud computing? While the term 'cloud' describes a distributed infrastructure, such as remote servers and data centers, 'cloud computing' reveals what exactly can be accomplished when leveraging this infrastructure. This involves delivering computing services via the cloud.

How Cloud Computing Works

Success in cloud computing begins with distributed servers, which, as IBM explains, are hosted remotely by cloud service providers and capable of "deliver[ing] applications, process[ing] information or provid[ing] data storage." Other critical elements include:

Data Centers

Cloud servers share similar capabilities with their on-premise counterparts, but are hosted within powerful data centers. These data centers form the backbone of the modern cloud. They are tightly controlled facilities that contain thousands of servers and may span tens of thousands of square feet.

Virtualization

Virtualization forms a critical piece within the overarching cloud computing puzzle. Involving virtual representations of physical infrastructure (such as servers), virtualization calls for a software component known as a hypervisor, which can split physical servers into isolated virtual machines.

Provisioning and Resource Allocation

Resource allocation determines the amount of CPU or network bandwidth required to fulfill various user requests. From there, virtualized resources are dynamically allocated in a process known as provisioning. Automation tools and orchestration platforms can streamline this process, with web portals or application programming interfaces (APIs) enabling end users to manage workloads or deploy applications.

Types of Cloud Computing Services

Several cloud computing services collaborate to help businesses harness the diverse benefits of the cloud. Experts at Google explain that these categories reveal precisely how the cloud is used within various organizations and the degree to which these organizations are responsible for multiple elements of cloud management.

Google adds that the phrase "as a service" reveals how the "service model is offered by a third party in the cloud," meaning that there is no need to "purchase, manage, or use any hardware, software, tools, or applications from an on-premises data center." Top models include:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Offering virtualized computing resources, IaaS focuses on servers, storage, and networking. IaaS grants users greater control, making it the preferred setup when considerable customization is desired.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Centered around the various hardware and software resources that allow businesses to develop applications via the cloud, PaaS will enable developers and IT teams to deploy applications at a rapid pace, without dealing with the underlying infrastructure and its associated complications. Pre-configured tools and middleware streamline workflows, accelerating time to market. PaaS functions as a middle ground between IaaS and SaaS.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Involving the entire application stack, SaaS offers the most robust cloud computing model, complete with fully managed infrastructure that supports a myriad of functions: security patches, data backups, and software updates, to name a few. Experts at IBM outline several advantages from the user's perspective: "rapid time-to-value, low-to-no management expenses, and predictable costs."

Cloud Deployment Models

Cloud service models should not be confused with cloud deployment models, which describe how infrastructure can be provisioned so that it is readily available to users. Instead, service models determine how cloud resources are hosted and the amount of control organizations maintain.

While service model decisions are often described in the context of public versus private, they have expanded in scope in recent years, with new solutions providing greater flexibility to help meet organizations' evolving needs. Top models include:

Public Cloud

Many users are now familiar with the public cloud, in which infrastructure is managed exclusively by third-party providers such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS). Frequently used by small businesses that require cost-effective infrastructure, the public cloud promises exceptional flexibility and accessibility.

Private Cloud

Dedicated to specific organizations, the private cloud offers a viable solution to complex compliance challenges, promoting enhanced data privacy and precise control. For this reason, the private cloud is most frequently utilized by government agencies and healthcare providers.

Hybrid Cloud

Blending the best of public and private deployment models, the hybrid cloud provides the flexibility needed to run workloads where they provide the most significant advantages. The hybrid approach allows businesses to maintain strong data privacy and security measures while also leveraging the enhanced scalability of the public cloud.

Multi-Cloud

Similar to the hybrid cloud in some respects, multi-cloud setups increase flexibility but involve different providers, thereby limiting the prospect for vendor lock-in. While this increases redundancy, it also increases complexity.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

No matter the preferred service or deployment models, cloud computing offers considerable advantages that increasingly make it a non-negotiable for today's organizations. Commonly cited advantages include:

• Cost Efficiency. Equipping physical infrastructure requires a considerable investment, and many businesses and organizations cannot afford these upfront costs. Cloud computing addresses these challenges while enabling organizations to maintain access to critical technological solutions at a reasonable price point.
• Scalability. As one of the core advantages of cloud computing, scalability enables organizations to scale up or down the use of IT resources in response to fluctuations in demand. The cloud's vast infrastructure makes it inherently scalable, providing a valuable element of elasticity that helps businesses control costs and remain flexible.
• Accessibility. If tethered to physical services, organizations may suffer from limited accessibility, which can be a significant liability in today's highly mobile environment, especially in an era of remote and hybrid work. The cloud expands access by making data and applications available from any location or at any time.
• Data Security and Backup. The cloud makes it easy to back up critical apps and data, ensuring that, in the event of a loss or other challenges, vital information can be restored. The result? Greater peace of mind and, in the worst-case scenario, the promise of business continuity.
• Automatic Updates. Offering easy access to the latest features, cloud computing leverages automated updates to keep applications efficient and secure. Meanwhile, users can avoid the time-consuming prospect of manual interventions.

Challenges of Cloud Computing

Despite the many advantages associated with the contemporary cloud, this continues to present several noteworthy risks. These must be addressed proactively to ensure that organizations can continue to leverage the benefits of cloud computing without compromising security or privacy.

• Security and Privacy Risks. Cloud providers claim to provide enhanced security over on-premise solutions, but they have not always lived up to these promises. Even when robust security features are implemented, breaches remain common, potentially leaving sensitive information at risk. Privacy concerns can amplify compliance issues, mainly due to the introduction of shared responsibility. Due diligence is essential, along with active efforts to avoid customer misconfigurations.
• Downtime and Service Outages. The cloud offers extraordinary opportunities — at least, when it functions as intended. Unfortunately, disruptions are always possible, and when these occur, they can bring critical services to a swift stop. As a result, users experience dramatic reductions in productivity and may also suffer reduced customer satisfaction.
• Vendor Lock-In. On-premises solutions deliver precise control, but the cloud forces some degree of vendor dependence, even when using basic options like IaaS. Meanwhile, switching vendors proves difficult, leaving users feeling helpless to pursue alternate options when pricing or services prove undesirable. Multi-cloud setups can limit the potential for vendor lock-in, but also introduce a level of complexity that some businesses may prefer to avoid.
• Sustainability. The cloud has a complex impact on sustainable initiatives. While this can help prevent some forms of waste (such as hardware overprovisioning), it also sparks considerable resource consumption. Modern data centers have particularly attracted criticism for their significant greenhouse gas emissions. Green cloud computing promises to address these concerns through improved resource utilization efficiency and the use of renewable resources.

Common Uses of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing serves a multitude of functions, offering the advantages of enhanced accessibility and scalability across a wide range of industries and applications. Currently, top use cases include:

Data Storage and Backup

Cloud storage replaces traditional storage solutions such as hard drives with remote servers, which can be easily accessed with a variety of devices. Typically managed by third-party providers, these cost-effective solutions allow organizations to bypass expensive and complex on-premise storage solutions.

Cloud backups serve a similar purpose but are primarily regarded as complementary, providing copies to secondary locations to ensure business continuity in the event of cyberattacks, natural disasters, or other unexpected data loss sources.

Disaster Recovery

Data backups represent a core element of disaster recovery, but this effort extends beyond to encompass entire IT systems that may be compromised following cyberattacks or other catastrophes.

Carried out in the cloud, disaster recovery can replicate entire applications to restore operations and minimize downtime. This allows for rapid recovery, which can be achieved within mere minutes.

Software Hosting and Delivery

Cloud hosting brings diverse software applications to virtual servers, instead of hosting on-premise applications. Since these applications can be accessed over the internet, they are readily available regardless of the user's location or preferred device.

Under this approach, software is installed on virtual servers, leveraging virtualized infrastructure to mimic physical servers. These may use containers to boost efficiency, with users ultimately connecting via browser, dedicated apps, or APIs, which use detailed protocols and standards to help various software components communicate seamlessly. 

Web Hosting

Similar to software hosting but specifically tied to websites (such as blogs or eCommerce pages), web hosting tends to be simpler than cloud-based software solutions and, in many cases, represents organizations' and users' first introduction to the cloud.

This may involve load balancing to ensure the even distribution of traffic across multiple servers, thereby maintaining fast and seamless website performance. Cloud-based hosting may also require content delivery networks (CDNs), which involve interconnected servers. 

Big Data Analytics

Cloud environments offer the extraordinary scalability and flexibility required to process large volumes of data efficiently. This approach leverages cloud computing to deliver practically unlimited storage, which is a must as datasets continue to grow larger and more complex.

From there, distributed frameworks deliver considerable computing power to help organizations process and analyze data acquired from diverse sources. Increasingly, these cloud-based systems integrate artificial intelligence or even machine learning to facilitate predictive modeling. 

Streaming Services

We have cloud computing to thank for our widespread access to streaming services, which deliver quality content reliably and cost-effectively. These services use cloud storage to maintain massive collections of media, relying on CDNs to distribute this content while keeping latency and buffering to a minimum. Other perks include multi-device support and digital rights management (DRM), which safeguards copyrighted material. 

Development and Testing

The cloud's inherent flexibility inspires innovation. It allows developers to bypass the restrictions imposed by physical hardware and code or test on short notice using immediately available infrastructure. Meanwhile, scalable testing environments facilitate the simulation of diverse conditions and scenarios, ultimately ensuring that software performs reliably in all situations. 

The Future of Cloud Computing

While cloud computing has reached widespread adoption, this landscape will continue to undergo considerable changes as we move into an exciting digital era. Anticipated advancements include:

• Edge computing. As a significant trend in IT, edge computing offers a distributed approach, where data is processed closer to the source rather than being automatically sent to distant data centers. Edge solutions limit latency while enhancing privacy and security. Moving forward, edge computing and cloud computing will join forces via hybrid models that leverage the unique advantages of each approach.
• Quantum cloud. Quantum computing promises to transform the cloud, drawing on advanced computing technologies that leverage quantum mechanics to solve complex problems previously deemed out of reach for classical computing systems. Add the scalability of the cloud, and the result is unprecedented access to extraordinary computing power. Quantum advancements are now occurring at an accelerated rate, with experts predicting that real-world quantum applications will be readily available within the next several years.

Find Your Place in the Future of Cloud Computing

Do you envision a bright future in a tech-driven field? Be prepared to become intimately acquainted with cloud computing. After all, the cloud will drive our digital future, presenting a myriad of opportunities that businesses across all sectors can leverage.

Explore cloud concepts and other tech-focused essentials while pursuing an online bachelor's in information technology with Champlain College Online. Our flexible program promotes not only industry-relevant technical skills, but also critical thinking and other crucial competencies. Reach out today to learn more about our tech-focused degree programs.