cloud computing

Cloud computing is a general term for the delivery of hosted computing services and IT resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. Users can obtain technology services such as processing power, storage and databases from a cloud provider, eliminating the need for purchasing, operating and maintaining on-premises physical data centers and servers.

A cloud can be private, public or a hybrid. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the internet. A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data center that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people, with certain access and permissions settings. A hybrid cloud offers a mixed computing environment where data and resources can be shared between both public and private clouds. Regardless of the type, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing resources and IT services.

Cloud infrastructure involves the hardware and software components required for the proper deployment of a cloud computing model. Cloud computing can also be thought of as utility computing or on-demand computing.

The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the internet in flowcharts and diagrams.

How does cloud computing work?

Rather than owning their own computing infrastructure or data centres, companies can rent access to anything from applications to storage from a cloud service provider.

One benefit of using cloud-computing services is that firms can avoid the upfront cost and complexity of owning and maintaining their own IT infrastructure, and instead simply pay for what they use, when they use it.

In turn, providers of cloud-computing services can benefit from significant economies of scale by delivering the same services to a wide range of customers.