09/12/2024
Cloud Computing
We’ve all heard the term “cloud” before. People use the word to refer to that place online where we store our files, photos, or videos, among many other things. Have you ever asked yourself where exactly the cloud is located? How big is it? What would happen to all your files, photos, and data if it suddenly disappeared? Here we will provide you with some answers.
To begin with, your data is not floating in cyberspace. The cloud is made up of thousands of servers at data centers located all over the world. According to research from Nasuni, there are over 1,073,741,824 Gigabytes of data stored in the cloud, and it keeps on growing every day. Now, could the cloud ever crash? Well, while certain sites or servers may indeed break down, companies have data redundancy in different locations all over the world, so it would be practically impossible for the entire cloud to crash.
Cloud Computing is basically the delivery of on-demand services and resources which are accessed remotely over the Internet. They include storage, databases, software applications, CPU processing, servers like web, mail, file streaming, network infrastructure, etc. What you consume is normally all you pay for, which brings down the costs significantly for the end-user. Companies like Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle offer cheap and flexible plans just a click away.
Smaller businesses regularly can’t afford their own computer infrastructure or data centers, so the best alternative is to pay a monthly fee for what they need, which helps them to avoid high costs. Also, the service is up and running 99.99% of the time. In case of a natural disaster or any other incident, cloud providers have all your data and backups mirrored at multiple redundant sites all over the world.
Cloud Computing Illustration
Cloud computing is not a single piece of technology. It’s more like a system made up of three parts: Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Software as a Service (SaaS) refers to the use of applications mainly on a web browser; some are free-of-charge, while others have a modest fee. It is a pay as you go model. Examples of this model are Microsoft’s Office 365, and all the Google Apps like Sheets, Slides, Keep, etc.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is more robust. Customers lease servers, operating systems, and storage, and access them on demand through certain IP addresses assigned by the provider. The advantages are that they don’t have to worry about buying hardware or maintaining an infrastructure on-site. Instead, they just rent the resources they need. Examples are IBM Cloud, Amazon Web Services, or Microsoft Azure.
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is quite similar to Software as a Service, and the main difference is that it does not deliver end-user software. Instead, it provides online frameworks to create software: Heroku, Firebase, or Google App Engine, just to mention a few.
One of the biggest concerns is security, as a high amount of sensitive data is being stored in the cloud, like medical and financial information. Every time you acquire a new service, you must accept the “Terms of Conditions” - please read them carefully. Regulations in most countries force companies to keep files encrypted so that nobody but the user can read them. However, this does not make them immune to natural disasters, bugs, or power outages.
One thing is certain: the cloud is becoming a necessary tool in every business sector, and large corporations and start-ups should adopt it according to their needs, as it will help them save costs and earn higher revenue.