Cloud computing

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services over the cloud. So, the cloud means Internet.

Computing services means servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics and more. Means you can use these services over the Internet (“the cloud”). Companies offering these computing services are called cloud providers.

Uses of cloud computing

Probably you must be using cloud computing right now, even if you don’t realise it. If you use an online service to send email, edit documents, watch movies or TV, listen to music, play games or store pictures and other files, it is likely that cloud computing is making it all possible behind the scenes. Here are a few of the things you can do with the cloud:

• Create new apps and services
• Store, back up and recover data
• Host websites and blogs
• Stream audio and video
• Deliver software on demand
• Analyse data for patterns and make predictions

Top benefits of cloud computing

What is it about cloud computing? Why is cloud computing so popular? Here are few common reasons of using cloud

1. Cost

Cloud computing eliminates the expense of buying hardware, software and backend cost like electricity, maintenance cost and others. You are charged for cloud computing services based on usage, similar to how you are billed for electricity at home.

2. Speed

Most cloud computing services are provided self service and on demand, so even vast amounts of computing resources can be allocated in minutes, typically with just a few mouse clicks, giving businesses a lot of flexibility and taking the pressure off capacity planning.

3. Global scale

The benefits of cloud computing services include the ability to scale elastically. You can increase your of IT resources—for example, more or less computing power, storage, bandwidth—right when its needed.

4. Productivity

On-site datacentres typically require a lot of “racking and stacking”—hardware set up, software patching and other time-consuming IT management chores. Cloud computing removes the need for many of these tasks, so IT teams can spend time on achieving more important business goals.

5. Performance

The biggest cloud computing services run on a worldwide network of secure datacentres, which are regularly upgraded to the latest generation of fast and efficient computing hardware. This offers several benefits over a single corporate datacentre, including reduced network latency for applications and greater economies of scale.

6. Reliability

Cloud computing makes data backup, disaster recovery and business continuity easier and less expensive, because data can be mirrored at multiple redundant sites on the cloud provider’s network.

Types of cloud deployments: public, private, hybrid

The cloud offers various types of product and services. But before we get into those lets look at 3 basic types of cloud platform: public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud.

Public cloud

Public clouds are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider, which deliver their computing resources like servers and storage over the Internet. Microsoft Azure is an example of a public cloud. In this model, you don’t own any hardware. Your cloud provider is responsible for purchasing and managing all of them. You access these services and manage your account using a web browser. You pay for what you use, not what you own

Private cloud

With private cloud, you own all the hardware or have complete access over it. We can have these hardware in our own data centre. Of course, the complete control comes at a price. You must purchase and maintain everything. Example of Private cloud is Azure Stack. Azure stack is a private instance of Azure that you can run in your own data centre. In private cloud, you pay for what you own, not what you use.

Hybrid cloud

As the name implies, hybrid clouds combine public and private clouds, bound together by technology that allows data and applications to be shared between them. Means in Azure we can run an application in Azure web app that uses the on premises database using hybrid connection. Isn’t it great. By allowing data and applications to move between private and public clouds, hybrid cloud gives businesses greater flexibility and more deployment options.

Types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS

Basically, cloud computing services fall into three categories: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS).

Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)

This most basic category of cloud computing services. With IaaS,you are responsible for everything, except the hardware. Your cloud service provider will take care of all the hardware such as servers, SSD’s, routers, cables and so on. you rent IT infrastructure. Services that come into this category include Virtual Machines, Azure containers etc. Its pay-as-you-go.

Platform as a service (PaaS)

With Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) you are responsible for your application and its configuration. Cloud provider will provide you the hardware and the operating system. You have less control over hardware. Services that fall into this category are Azure App Service, Azure SQL Database etc. With PaaS. You can host your application with using additional capabilities from azure such as Azure Mobile App or other services. Your application still runs on a server but you are not responsible for that.

Software as a service (SaaS)

With Software-as-a-service (SaaS), you are only responsible for configuring the software. It’s the highest level of abstraction. Example of SaaS is Office 365 where you can use Microsoft word, excel and more online. You don’t need to install anything. With SaaS, the software is Ready to Use.