Cloud Computing For Beginners

What is Cloud Computing?

Fundamentals

Cloud computing in simple terms is an on-demand computing service whether it be from processing power or even storage, given that they are charged on a pay-as-you-go basis. The benefit of cloud computing is that many organisations help reduce cost by doing so and getting the work done twice the time as well as avoid the cost of owning anything. 

Cloud computing today has become a lot popular with many users and organisations. Software vendors nowadays are offering their applications as a service instead of standalone products. However, it does increase the cost factor as well as the risk factor for organisations that are not familiar with the cloud computing concept. The main function of cloud computing is to allocate services on demand as said previously. Cloud computing focuses on using resources on an aggregated virtual computer. 

The cloud computing model consists of a front-end and a back-end. The front-end consists of the user’s computer or the network of the whole organisation. The back-end then provides the application services, computers, servers and the storage that create the whole cloud of services. 

There are three types of cloud services:

• Private Cloud
• Public Cloud
• Hybrid Cloud

Public Clouds:

They can be accessed and used by anyone in the public and are provisioned by the organisations selling cloud services. The public cloud consists of the applications that are provisioned over the Internet using the web which is provided by any third-party organisation.

Private Clouds:

These clouds are built within the networks of the organisation and are protected by the firewalls of the organisation. They offer the same services as the public clouds offer. The only difference is that the cloud if it is private, is managed and maintained by the organisation.

Hybrid Clouds:

As the name suggests, hybrid clouds are a mixture of private and public clouds.  The main benefit of hybrid clouds is that they enjoy the mix of services and security and the management of these clouds are divided between the public cloud provider and the organisation itself.