The buzzword which is appearing to rule the technology is cloud computing. Whether it is the aisles of power in government offices, carpeted corner offices in large enterprises or high-energy start-ups and small businesses, we can feel its presence everywhere. And while the words are dropped frequently in any discussion related to IT, the definition, scope and advantages seem to be as nebulous as a real cloud.
What is Cloud Computing?
In simple words, cloud computing is a technology or system where applications and data reside on central servers (rather than your personal computer or datacenter) and are accessed through the Internet. An easy and often-used analogy is to view computing power as a utility, rather like electricity, which a service provider supplies, and you use and pay for as per your demand.
If you look at it, you have already experienced cloud computing when you use mail services like Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail, etc. You don’t need to buy and install mail software on your machine. You just use the Internet to access the service and the data that are stored on central servers. Now, just imagine the same concept for all your other IT needs. It’s as simple as that.
The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that’s often used to represent the internet in flowcharts and diagrams. Technically, cloud computing services are divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
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