What is cloud computing?
Today, as the world is moving forward, one or the other new technology is being developed everyday and if we want to keep pace with the world, then it is necessary for us to know about these technologies. Now the technology that is being heard for some time is Cloud Computing. So what is this Cloud Computing and what does it do? If many such questions are arising in your mind, then read our post What is cloud computing (what is cloud computing) completely, in this we will answer every question related to this technology in great detail.
What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing is defined as the storage and access of data and computing services over the Internet. It does not store any data on your personal computer. It is the on-demand availability of computer services such as servers, data storage, networking, databases, etc. The main objective of cloud computing is to provide access to data centers to multiple users. Users can also access data from remote servers.
Let us learn the basics of cloud computing with an example
Whenever you travel by bus or train, you take a ticket for your destination and stay on your seat till you reach your destination. Similarly other passengers also take tickets and travel in the same bus with you and it hardly bothers you where they go. When your stop arrives, you thank the driver and get off the bus. Cloud computing is like a bus that carries data and information to different users and allows them to use their service with minimal cost.
Why is cloud computing needed?
With the increase of computer and mobile users, data storage has become a priority in all sectors. Large and small scale businesses today thrive on their data and they have spent a huge amount to maintain this data. This requires a strong IT support and storage hub. Not all businesses can afford the high cost of in-house IT infrastructure and back-up support services. For them cloud computing is a cheap solution. Perhaps its efficiency in data storage, computation and low maintenance cost has been successful in attracting large businesses as well.
Cloud computing reduces the demand for hardware and software on the part of the user. The only thing a user needs to be able to run is the cloud computing system interface software, which can be as simple as a web browser, and the cloud network takes care of the rest. We all have experienced cloud computing at some point or the other, some of the popular cloud services we have used or we are still using are mail services like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo etc.
While accessing the e-mail service, our data is stored on cloud servers and not on our computers. The technology and infrastructure behind the cloud is invisible. It is less important whether cloud services are based on HTTP, XML, Ruby, PHP or other specific technologies, as long as it is user-friendly and functional. An individual user can connect to the cloud system from his own devices such as desktop, laptop or mobile.
Cloud computing allows small businesses to effectively use limited resources, it gives small businesses access to technologies that were previously out of their reach. Cloud computing helps small businesses turn their maintenance costs into profits. Let’s see how?
In an in-house IT server, you have to pay a lot of attention and ensure that there are no glitches in the system so that it runs smoothly. and you are solely responsible for any technical glitches; It will demand a lot of attention, time and money to repair. Whereas, in cloud computing, the service provider takes full responsibility for the complexity and technical faults.
History of Cloud Computing | History of cloud computing
The Internet has its roots in the 1960s, but had no relevance to businesses until the early 1990s. The World Wide Web was born in 1991, and in 1993 a web browser called Mosaic was released that allowed users to view web pages that contained graphics as well as text. It introduced the first company web sites – and not surprisingly, most of these were related to companies involved in computing and technology.
As Internet connections became faster and more reliable, a new type of company called an Application Service Provider, or ASP, began to appear. ASP took existing business applications on computing software and ran them for their customers to access over the Internet for a monthly fee.
But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that cloud computing as we know it today appeared. That’s when Salesforce introduced its multi-tenant application that was specifically designed to do three things
Cloud has grown bigger and bigger since then. In fact, spending on cloud services is projected to grow exponentially – from about $70 billion in 2015 to an estimated $141 billion or more in 2019.
Types of cloud computing
There are four different cloud models that you can subscribe to as per the business requirements. Following are the different types of cloud computing:
Private Cloud: Here the computing resources are deployed for a particular organization. This method is used more for intra-business interactions. Where computing resources can be controlled, owned and operated by the same organization.
Community Cloud: Here computing resources are provided for a community and organizations.
Public Cloud: This type of cloud is generally used for B2C (Business to Consumer) type interactions. Here the computing resource is owned, governed and operated by the government, an academic or commercial organization.
Hybrid Cloud: This type of cloud can be used for both types of interactions B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer). This deployment method is called a hybrid cloud because the computing resources are tied together by different clouds.
benefits of cloud computing
The potential for cost savings is a major reason for many organizations adopting cloud services. Cloud computing gives the freedom to use services as per the requirement and pay only for what you use. Cloud computing has made it possible to run IT operations as an outsourced entity without in-house resources.
Now in this Cloud Computing article, we will learn about the benefits of Cloud Computing.
• Lower IT infrastructure and computer costs for users
• better performance
• Fewer maintenance issues
• Instant software updates
• Better compatibility between operating systems
• backup and recovery
• Performance and scalability
• Increase in storage capacity
• Increase data security
disadvantages of cloud computing
No longer in control: When moving services to the cloud, you are handing over your data and information. Companies that have in-house IT staff would be unable to handle the issues on their own. However, Stratosphere Networks has a 24/7 live help desk that can fix any issues quickly.
Not all features can be found: Not all cloud services are created equal. Some cloud providers offer limited editions and enable only the most popular features, so you may not get every feature or customization you want. Before signing up, make sure you know what your cloud service provider offers.
Lack of capacity and expertise. With cloud-supporting technologies advancing rapidly, organizations are struggling to meet the growing demand for tools and employees with the appropriate skill sets and knowledge needed to architect, deploy, and manage workloads and data in the cloud .
Examples of cloud computing
Here are some examples of cloud computing applications:
Health care:
Cloud computing allows medical professionals to perform diagnostics, host information and analyze patients remotely. Cloud computing allows doctors to share information quickly from anywhere. It also saves cost by allowing large data file to be transferred quickly. This definitely increases efficiency.
Ultimately, cloud technology helps the medical team ensure that patients receive the best possible care without unnecessary delays. With the help of remote conferencing, the condition of the patients can be updated within seconds.
Education:
Cloud computing is also useful in educational institutions for distance learning. It provides various services for universities, colleges, professors and teachers to reach out to thousands of students around the world. Companies like Google and Microsoft provide various services free of cost to the faculties, teachers, professors and students of various educational institutions. Various educational institutions around the world use these services to improve their efficiency and productivity.
Government:
The US military and government were early adopters of cloud computing. Their cloud includes social, mobile and analytics technologies. However, they must adhere to strict compliance and security measures (FIPS, FISMA, and FedRAMP). It protects against cyber threats both domestically and abroad.
Big Data Analytics:
Cloud computing helps data scientists to analyze various data patterns, insights for better predictions and decision making. There are many open-source big data development and analytics tools available for this purpose like Cassandra, Hadoop etc.
Communication:
Cloud computing provides network-based access to communication tools such as email and social media. WhatsApp also uses cloud-based infrastructure to facilitate user communication. All the information is stored in the hardware of the service provider.
Business Process:
Nowadays, many business processes such as email, ERP, CRM and document management have become cloud-based services. SaaS has become the most important way for enterprises. Some examples of SaaS include Salesforce, HubSpot.
Facebook, Dropbox and Gmail:
Cloud computing can be used for the storage of files. It helps you to automatically synchronize files from different devices like desktop, tablet, mobile etc. Dropbox allows users to store and access up to 2 GB of files for free. It also provides a handy backup feature.
Social networking platforms like Facebook demand powerful hosting to manage and store data in real time. Cloud-based communication provides click-to-call facilities from social networking sites and access to instant messaging systems.
Citizen Service:
Cloud technology can also be used to handle citizen services. This can be done comprehensively with the help of cloud computing for storing, managing, updating citizen details, accepting forms and even verifying the current status of applications.
Cloud computing services
There are three major cloud computing offerings
Different businesses use some or all of these components as per their requirement.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS or Software as a Service is a software delivery model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over a network (Internet). SaaS is becoming an increasingly prevalent delivery model in the form of underlying technologies that support service-oriented architecture (SOA) or web services. The service is available to users anywhere in the world via the Internet.
PaaS (Platform as a Service)
Platform as a Service, referred to as PaaS, provides a platform and environment to allow developers to build applications and services. The service is hosted in the cloud and accessed by users via the Internet.
To understand in simple terms, compare it to drawing a picture, where you are provided with paint colours, different paint brushes and paper by your school teacher and all you have to do is use those tools to draw a beautiful picture.
PaaS services are constantly updated and new features are added. Software developers, web developers, and businesses can all benefit from PaaS. It provides platform to support application development. This includes software support and management services, storage, networking, deployment, testing, collaboration, hosting, and maintaining applications.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
IaaS (Infrastructure As A Service) is one of the fundamental service models of cloud computing. It provides access to computing resources in a virtualized environment “the cloud” over the Internet. It provides computing infrastructure such as virtual server space, network connections, bandwidth, load balancers, and IP addresses. The pool of hardware resources is drawn from multiple servers and networks that are typically distributed across multiple data centers. This provides redundancy and reliability to IaaS.
What is grid computing?
When we switch on a fan or any electrical appliance, we are less concerned about the supply of electricity than where it comes from and how it is generated. The power supply or electricity that we receive at our home travels through a series of networks, which include power stations, transformers, power lines and transmission stations. These components together form a ‘power grid’. Similarly, ‘grid computing’ is an infrastructure that connects computing resources such as PCs, servers, workstations and storage elements and provides the necessary mechanisms to access them.
Cloud computing
Cloud computing acts more as a service provider for computer resource usage.
Cloud computing is a centralized model
A cloud is usually a collection of computers owned by a single party.
Provides all over the world more services like cloud web hosting, db (data base) support and much more
Cloud computing is usually provided within a single organization (eg: Amazon)
Grid computing
Grid computing uses available resources and interconnected computer systems to accomplish a common goal.
Grid computing is a decentralized model, where computation can take place across multiple administrative models.
A grid is a collection of computers owned by multiple parties in multiple locations and linked together so that users can share the combined power of resources.
Grid provides limited services
Grid computing consolidates resources located within different organizations.
