Cloud computing is a concept that enables ubiquitous access to shared pools of configurable system resources and higher-level services that can be rapidly provisioned with minimal management effort, often over the Internet from multiple cloud server farms. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale, similar to a public utility.
Third-party clouds enable organizations to focus on their core businesses instead of spending resources on computer infrastructure, security and maintenance. Advocates of Cloud Computing note that this type of service allows companies to avoid or minimize up-front IT infrastructure costs and provides a robust, secure and flexible platform for businesses and individuals to run their IT operations. Minimum management, optimized resources and significantly less operational costs are some of the key benefits of the Cloud Computing platform. It also enables IT teams to more rapidly adjust resources to meet fluctuating and unpredictable demand. Cloud providers typically use a “pay-as-you-go” model which offers flexibility and reduces overhead costs, but which can also lead to unexpected operating expenses if administrators are not familiarized with cloud-pricing models.
This popular service can primarily be classified as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). There are several popular cloud computing providers in the market at present, of which, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Microsoft Azure are the most popular.