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You must
have heard about cloud computing once or at some point of time and after
hearing this term, you must have got many doubts, like what is cloud computing,
how is it used, What are its advantages or disadvantages or where did this
technology come from etc. In this article, we will cover these topics, so if
you also want to know the answers to all these questions, then read this
article completely.
What is
cloud computing ?
If you are
unsure about what is cloud computing, then you are probably among 95% of people
who are already using cloud services, such as online banking. , social networks
and Google Apps but do not realize it.
“Cloud” is a
set of different types of hardware and software that work collectively to deliver
many aspects of computing to the end-user as an online service.
Cloud
computing is the use of hardware and software to deliver service over a network
or internet. With Cloud Computing, users can access files and use applications
and that too from any device that can access the Internet.
An example
of a cloud computing provider is Google’s Gmail. Gmail users can access
Google-hosted files and applications via the Internet from any device.
There are 4
models of cloud computing in terms of different access and security options.
Before moving your data to the cloud, you need to consider which model will
work best for your business and data needs.
Private
cloud
A private
cloud is where services and infrastructure are maintained and managed by you or
a third party. This option minimizes potential security and controls risks, and
will suit you if your data and applications are a core part of your business
and you need a high level of security or sensitive data needs.
Community
cloud
A community
cloud exists, where multiple organizations share access to a private cloud with
similar security considerations. For example, a series of franchises have their
own public clouds, but they are hosted remotely in a private environment.
Public
cloud
A public
cloud is a place where services are stored off-site and accessed over the
Internet. Storage is managed by an external organization like Google or
Microsoft. This service provides the greatest level of flexibility and cost
savings; However, it is more vulnerable than private clouds.
Hybrid
cloud
A hybrid
cloud model takes advantage of both public and private cloud services. By
spreading your options across different cloud models, you get the benefits of
each model.
For example,
you can use a public cloud for your email to save on large storage costs, while
keeping your highly sensitive data safe and secure behind your firewall in a
private cloud.
How does
cloud computing work?
So far we
have known what is Cloud Computing and what are its four main models, let us
now know how it works:
There are
three main types of cloud computing service models available, commonly known
as:
· Software as a Service (SaaS)
· Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
· Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Depending on
your needs, your business may use one of these service models or a mix of all
three.
Software as
a Service (SaaS)
SaaS is the
most common form of cloud computing for small businesses. You can access
software applications hosted on the Internet using a browser, instead of
traditional applications stored on your PC or server.
The software
application host is responsible for controlling and maintaining the
application, including software updates and settings. You, as a user, have
limited control over the application and configuration settings.
Typical
examples of SaaS are web-based mail service or customer relationship management
system.
Infrastructure
as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS usually
means buying or renting your computer power and disk space from an external
service provider. This option allows you to access over a private network or
the Internet.
The service
provider maintains the physical computer hardware, including CPU processing,
memory, data storage and network connectivity. Examples of IaaS include Amazon
EC2, Rackspace, and Windows Azure.
Platform as
a Service (PaaS)
PaaS can be
described as a crossover of both SaaS and IaaS. Essentially you rent the
hardware, operating systems, storage and network capacity that IaaS provides as
well as software servers and application environments. PaaS gives you more
control over the technical aspects of your computing setup and the ability to
customize it to suit your needs.
Cloud
computing Benefits
The exact
benefits will vary according to the type of cloud service used, but,
fundamentally, using cloud services means that companies do not need to buy or
maintain their own computing infrastructure.
The company
does not need to worry about updating the application or operating system or
disposing of the hardware or software when it is out of date as these are all
taken care of by the supplier.
For
commodity applications such as email, it is better to switch to a cloud
provider than rely on in-house skills.
A company
that specializes in running and securing these services is likely to have
better skills and more experienced staff than a small business, so cloud
services may be able to provide a more secure and efficient service to end
users. .
Using cloud
services means that companies can move on projects faster and test concepts
without lengthy purchases and large upfront costs, as firms only pay for the
resources they consume. This concept of business agility is often mentioned by
cloud advocates as a major advantage.
The ability
to spin up new services without the time and effort associated with traditional
IT procurement should mean it’s easy to move up quickly with new applications.
And if a new application makes the cloud’s elastic nature wildly popular, it
means it’s easy to scale up.
Advantages
and disadvantages of cloud computing
Cloud
computing is not necessarily cheaper than other forms of computing, just as
renting is not always cheaper than buying in the long term. If there is a
regular and predictable need for an application for computing services, it may
be more economical to provide that service in-house.
Some
companies may be reluctant to host sensitive data on a service that is also
used by rivals. Moving to a SaaS application can also mean that you are using
the same applications as a competitor, which can make it harder to make any
competitive advantage if that application is core to your business.
While it may
be easy to start using a new cloud application, migrating existing data or apps
to the cloud can be more complex and costly.
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