Cloud Computing at a Glance

This post introduces cloud computing to those who are unfamiliar with cloud computing and cloud services.

You may have heard the buzzwords cloud and cloud computing and wondered what all the fuss was about.

After reading this post you will be able to:

• Describe cloud services and cloud computing.
• Understand Cloud from the perspective of cloud providers
• Give examples of cloud services and cloud providers
• Explain different types of cloud services

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT services over the internet at a pay-as-you-go pricing model.

Let us explain what the highlighted words mean.

• On-demand: The service delivered is strictly based on your needs and specifications that suit your usage.

• IT services: These include compute instances, storage, networking, security, software, etc.

• Internet: The above IT services are delivered over the internet and do not require physical connections and installations.

• Pay-as-you-go: This is a pricing system whereby one will only be charged up to the extent that one uses a service. That is to say, there is no upfront payment.

In a nutshell, cloud computing allows a customer with a specific need to rent an IT infrastructure over the internet and only pay for what is used.

Some popular cloud service providers are:
· Amazon Web Service (AWS)
· Microsoft Azure
· Google Cloud Provider (GCP)
· Digital Ocean
· IBM Cloud

Examples of cloud services include:

· Compute — examples include remote servers, virtual machines such as Amazon EC2, Azure Virtual Machines, Google Cloud Kubernetes Engine

· Storage — examples include: Azure Blob Storage, Amazon S3, IBM Cloud Block Storage

· Networking: Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Azure Virtual Network (VNet), Google Cloud DNS

· Security _ examples include Google Cloud Key Management Services (KMS), AWS IAM, and Azure Key Vault.

There are several other services offered over the internet by different cloud providers. Cloud computing eliminates the need for customers to construct and maintain physical infrastructure, making it more cost-effective. The elastic nature of cloud services allows a customer to scale their IT workloads instantly as the need arises which would have not been possible with physical infrastructures (Obviously, you cannot buy and install physical infrastructure in a single day; this will take a significant amount of time).
_With cloud computing, new start-ups can go worldwide in a few minutes
_

What is the Cloud?

Although cloud services are delivered remotely (via wireless), it makes sense to refer to them as being delivered over the cloud. However, from the perspective of cloud providers, the cloud consists of physical infrastructure (servers) that are made available via the internet. I’ve met people who assumed that cloud services, such as storage, were located in the “cloud” (sky) (due to the term “cloud”). It is important to note that the cloud is provided by physical infrastructures (servers) at physical locations known as data centers, which are accessible via the internet.

Now that you understand what is cloud and cloud computing, and how it is provided over the internet, we’ve also talked about some popular cloud service providers and examples of cloud services they offer, we need to mention the types of cloud services that are provided.

Types of Cloud services:

Cloud services are majorly classified into three (3) types

· Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

· Platform as a Service (PaaS)

· Software as Service (SaaS)

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) -: The cloud provider provides only essential computing, storage, and networking resources needed to successfully run applications and software, however the underlying operating system, security, software, etc. are completely managed by the customers. Typically, in IaaS the cloud provider rents the IT infrastructure to the user responsible for building, setting up, managing, and maintaining the resource. IaaS provides the user with the highest level of flexibility. Examples of IaaS include all compute services such as Amazon EC2, and Azure Virtual Machine.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) -: This is a cloud computing service that allows the users to provision, instantiate, develop and deploy applications and software without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure that is associated with running the applications. Platform as a Service allows developers to focus on creating, developing, and maintaining applications and software and not be concerned with the infrastructure that runs the applications. Examples of PaaS include Azure App Service and AWS Lambda.

Software as a Service (SaaS) -: In this type of cloud computing service applications are delivered over the internet and the user only needs to learn how to use the application. SaaS can be technically considered as web-based applications and is usually accessed from endpoints such as web browsers. Examples of SaaS include Google workspace, Microsoft office 365, Azure IoT suite, etc.

I like to use this example to help you differentiate between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS; it may not be a typical scenario, but it should give you an idea.

Consider a person who owns a piece of land and decides to:

1. Lease it out, but the tenant will be in charge of deciding what will be built on the property, how it will be built, and how it will be furnished. This is an illustration of Infrastructure as a Service in action.

2. To construct a home and then rent it out. In this instance, the consumer is relieved of the burden of house design and construction. The purchaser will, however, be the one to decorate and furnish the home. Therefore, given that the platform (living abode) has been made available, this is characteristic of Platform as a Service.

3. To construct a house and completely furnish it so that the client only needs to move in and begin living. All the client has to do is make good use of the property. This is typical of Software as a Service.

Conclusion

We were able to explain cloud computing and the concept of the cloud in very simple terms. Cloud computing is the delivery of IT services via the internet.

Please like the post if you learned something from it.