This guide gives you an easily understandable cloud computing description, outlining the different types and the benefits.
It’s estimated that 96% of businesses are already utilizing the public cloud, 84% are using the private cloud, and 94% of companies have noticed significant improvements since the cloud was introduced. These numbers prove that cloud technologies are gaining popularity and are here to stay.
This is why growing and already established businesses are seeking cloud development companies and approaching the development process right away. If you are among them, approach it right.
As the cloud computing domain is forecast to be worth 947.3 billion USD by 2026, we’d like to dissect cloud computing and its specifics to help you make better choices.
Cloud computing description
Cloud computing is a list of services delivered over the cloud. This means that a development team utilizes servers remotely to store data and access it when needed instead of choosing private data centers or local hard drives.
What was before the cloud? Before the advent of cloud technology, businesses were expected to purchase and maintain their own servers to meet their development needs. Buying servers wasn’t enough. The process included purchasing enough server space to eliminate outages and downtime risks. Since companies wanted their servers to be able to accommodate large data volumes, they bought too much server space, and large amounts of it remained unused.
Cloud computing description: Types
There are several different types and categories of cloud computing. But we will focus on the top options.
Based on deployment, the top three cloud computing types are:
- Public
- Private
- Hybrid
Public cloud means data and software are hosted and accessed via the Internet. Once you have proper permission, you can easily access someone’s resources and applications. In this case, you do not own any on-cloud components (hardware, software). An operator like Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services handles them.
Private clouds are utilized by businesses that can run them locally or outsource this work to cloud service operators. The entire framework is created and run on a private network. The infrastructure is also accessible to people with access to it. AWS products are a sample of the top-wanted private clouds.
Hybrid clouds feature the specifics of both previous cloud types. Businesses that choose a hybrid option store only part of their data locally while the rest is in public space. The most well-known organization that uses this approach is NASA: they store sensitive data privately and utilize public servers to share other data worldwide.
Based on the services they offer, we can categorize three more main cloud computing types:
- IaaS
- PaaS
- SaaS
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) allows companies to rent networks, servers, OS, storage, and other computing resources on the PPU model. And once their infrastructure scales, businesses don’t need to invest in extra hardware to satisfy their needs.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is a development environment kept on the cloud. It gives software engineers the tools to create and deploy applications.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) allows businesses to host applications on a remote server. When needed, businesses can access the app from a browser or through traditional web integration. The provider guarantees updates, maintenance, and backups. Popular software like ERP and CRM are SaaS products.
Top Benefits of Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is gaining popularity because of its multiple benefits. Below are the top benefits you need to know before diving into the development and hosting process.
- High speed. A typical feature of cloud computing services is the exceptional ability to provide a huge number of computing resources in minutes.
- Lower costs. Cloud computing services eliminate the need for extra resources and expenses. Hardware and software costs and on-site management expenses add up per request and can be planned.
- Scalability. Cloud computing services scale easily depending on your workloads. You can choose less or more storage and computing power when needed.
- Security. The controls, technologies, and policies of cloud computing services improve the overall security picture, safeguarding privacy-sensitive information, apps, and users at the highest level.
- Modernization. Cloud services help businesses refuse legacy software and adopt new technologies and innovative solutions to streamline their operations and workflows.
Summing up
Now that you have a better idea of the cloud computing description and its benefits, you are ready for the next step: getting in touch with a trustworthy team to deliver the required development services on time. Keep moving in the cloud-based direction for exceptional business results.