What is cloud computing? Definition, types, benefits & examples

Almost every business or organization has now turned to cloud computing, also known as the cloud, but what exactly is it and what can it offer?

Cloud computing, by definition, is the on-demand delivery of computing resources over the internet. These resources include, but are not limited to: data storage, development tools, servers (both physical and virtual ones), networking, software, applications, databases, and intelligence.

With cloud computing, you don't need to buy and maintain physical servers or data centers. You can access IT resources as needed, from one or multiple cloud providers, at any time and from anywhere. Cloud computing is ideal for organizations of any industry and type for a wide range of situations.

For instance, retail businesses can use cloud computing for real-time inventory tracking and monitoring to instantly prevent overstocking and understocking. Financial services, as another example, can benefit from cloud-powered cybersecurity measures that detect and prevent fraud in real-time.

The top cloud computing companies are:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• Microsoft Azure

• Google Cloud

• IBM Cloud

• CloudFlare

• Alibaba

• Tencent

• Oracle

• VMware

How is cloud computing different from other forms of computing, such as traditional IT and edge computing?

Traditional IT

Traditional IT refers to the model of an organization or individual owning, controlling, operating, and managing a data center, server farm, mainframe, supercomputer, or other non-cloud computing solutions. It provides ultimate data privacy and ensures total computation control.

Yet, investing in the infrastructure for traditional IT systems can be very costly. They are also not as scalable or resilient as cloud computing solutions.

Edge computing is a computing paradigm that brings computing and storage geographically closer to the data source to achieve better results, such as shorter response times, lower latency and better bandwidth. One instance of this type of computing is in CDNs. However, edge computing can cost clients more as it requires the optimal performance of both hardware and software.

One use case of edge computing is when banks and financial service providers move their data processing closer to them, allowing them to process vast amounts of customer and client data faster and provide better data security.

Cloud computing has exploded in popularity from its ability to revolutionize businesses and numerous benefits.

Agility ⚡

With cloud computing, you can easily access varying IT resources based on your needs. Obtain the services you need with a few clicks and deploy them in minutes and implement your business ideas quickly, easily and flexibly. This speed and agility allows you to keep up with sudden market changes and newly emerging trends.

Elasticity 📈 📉

Instantly scale computing resources up or down using cloud computing. As your business grows, your computing resources in the cloud grow with you, and can instantly scale up as needed, such as to help you handle abrupt spikes in business during peak seasons. After peak season passes and business requests dip in number, you can just as easily reduce the amount of resources you need, all at no cost. You never need to worry about under-provisioning or over-provisioning resources unnecessarily. Read more about cloud elasticity here.

Cost Efficiency 💰

Maintaining an on-site data center can be costly with necessary expenses of hardware, electricity bills, hiring IT experts, etc. However, most cloud services are provided on a pay-as-you-go basis. Not only do you save money on buying and maintaining on-site hardware, but you are also only charged for the services that you actually use.

Improved User Experience 👍

Cloud computing allows you to deploy your IT resources to different geographic locations you desire within minutes. Most cloud providers have CDN infrastructure around the world, where you can deploy your applications with reduced latency to the areas where your users are located, offering a better user experience for your end users.

Increased Productivity ✅

The cloud saves you the trouble of setting up servers and data centers or carrying out other IT chores. The feature of cloud logging also allows programmers to quickly identify and fix errors in cloud computing. IT teams and other personnel can then increase productivity by focusing on business development.

Cutting-edge Performance ➕

Cloud providers regularly upgrade their computing hardware to the latest generation. You then enjoy reduced latency and other benefits offered by next-generation servers to refine the customer experience of your applications and services.

Choose the type and models of cloud computing from the ones that best suit you. Understanding your business needs and different cloud computing services before you purchase any cloud solutions is essential to optimizing the benefits gained from the cloud.

Based on the way IT resources are deployed, cloud computing can be divided into 4 models: a public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud and multiple clouds.

1. Public cloud ☁️

The public cloud refers to computing resources owned and operated by a third party but delivered to other companies or individuals via the internet. These resources include hardware, networking, cloud storage, services, applications, and interfaces. The cloud provider supplies its clients with many options for computing and highly scalable data centers without disclosing the underlying infrastructure.

Some common cloud providers include Google, AWS, Microsoft Azure, CloudFlare, Alibaba, and Tencent.

2. Private cloud ☁️

The private cloud, on the other hand, is a set of hardware, networking, storage, services, applications, and interfaces that are for the exclusive use of a single organization. It is a tightly controlled environment inaccessible to the public.

Third-party public cloud providers also offer private cloud services and can host private clouds for businesses, known as a Virtual Private Cloud - a private cloud hosted within a public cloud which is only accessible by its owners.

3. Hybrid cloud ☁️

The hybrid cloud, as its name suggests, is a combination of public and private cloud services, allowing data and applications to be shared and operated on both. Hybrid cloud computing provides more flexibility and greater business possibilities.

4. Multi-cloud ☁️

Lastly, multi-cloud is when an organization uses cloud services from more than one cloud provider at the same time. Multi-cloud has its own advantages, but its management requires specific cloud knowledge and expertise.

To understand the fundamentals of cloud computing, you also need to understand how cloud computing services are delivered. There are 4 major cloud computing service types: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and serverless.

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) 🏢

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) refers to the on-demand delivery of fundamental infrastructure cloud services, including compute, storage, and networking services. You can think of IaaS as a cloud computing service that provides a virtual server on which you can choose an operating system, such as Windows, Linux, etc. to run.

IaaS services are usually designed as self-service environments and can be delivered from both public and private clouds. Some examples of IaaS include AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, with a few specific services being AWS EC2, Rackspace, Google Compute Engine (GCE), and Digital Ocean.

Platform as a service (PaaS) 📱

Platform as a service (PaaS) provides a range of software development tools, middle services, and middleware services on top of the existing infrastructure. Thus, users can easily develop and/or deploy their own software and applications. PaaS is basically IaaS with in-built operating systems and development tools, saving time for developers as its environment is conducive for development.

Examples of PaaS services include Salesforce Lightning, AWS Lambda, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and Google App Engine.

Software as a service (SaaS) 💿

Software as a service (SaaS) refers to software and/or applications for businesses or individuals. SaaS services typically charge per user, and on a monthly or yearly basis. You may even already be using a SaaS service outside of cloud computing, such as Dropbox, Netflix, HubSpot, Slack, and Tableau. Popular cloud computing SaaS services include Adobe Creative Cloud, Salesforce, Zoom, Trello, Jira, Google Workplace, and Microsoft Office 365.

Serverless computing 💻

Serverless computing is a cloud computing model in which the cloud provider takes care of the server and allows customers to build and run codes without having to manage it or other back-end infrastructure.

Some serverless computing examples are AWS Lambda, Microsoft Azure Functions, Google Cloud Functions, and Microsoft's Serverless Computing.

Despite its advantages, cloud computing faces security issues as it is accessible over a wide range of geographical areas. As more and more organizations rely on cloud computing for their operations to varying degrees, the possible damage caused by security breaches grows larger, and the more these security issues need to be addressed. Cloud security experts face the challenge of understanding and protecting against cloud computing threats by coming up with security strategies. Some common cloud security challenges are:

• Cloud misconfiguration

• Unauthorized use of cloud

• Insecure interfaces/APIs

• Hijacking of accounts

• Lack of infrastructure visibility

• External sharing of data

• Insider attacks

• Cyberattacks

• Denial of service (DoS) and Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks

Fortunately, there are also cloud security measures that can be implemented to combat these threats, such as Anti-DDoS protection and SSL certificates. For example, AWS Shield, Google Cloud Security Command Center, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud are some of the cloud security measures that can safeguard your computing resources.

Ready to reap the benefits of the cloud? Hi Cloud partners with 6 public cloud providers and provides multi-cloud solutions to help you make the most of cloud computing while protecting against various cloud security threats. Contact our cloud experts and book a free consultation now.