In the past, running software or storing data meant coming in physical contact with computing hardware. Individuals carried stacks of floppy disks, CDs or external hard drives; businesses had their own server room in the office basement. Software upgrades required the purchase of physical discs, and when space became full, it would be necessary to install a larger disk manually.
Today, the physical tie has been broken. We watch movies in seconds, work together on live spreadsheets with people all over the world, and browse the world’s photo library from any screen on Earth. Cloud computing is a key technological change that has turned computing power into a utility, like water and electricity, which can be tapped anytime and anywhere.
The first one is demystifying the Cloud: How It Actually Works.The first one is demystifying the Cloud: How It Actually Works.
Although it sounds like a cloud in the sky, the cloud isn’t. It’s tied to huge physical bases spread out around the globe.
The Physical Backbone and Virtualization
Cloud computing is essentially the provisioning of computing resources, such as computing power, data storage, network and databases over the Internet, especially on a pay-as-you-go basis. Cloud’s backbone is thousands of hyper-scale data centers located around the world, with millions of high-performance physical servers.
Virtualization is the real game-changer for cloud computing. Cloud service providers isolate the operating systems from physical machines through a special management software known as hypervisors. A single physical machine can be partitioned into dozens of separate machines called “virtual machines” (VMs). This can help cloud service providers allocate cloud computing resources among multiple users without compromising privacy or security.
Abandoning the concept of elasticity and abandoning the concept of On-Demand Scalability
In the traditional computing world, surges in traffic were met by purchasing the necessary hardware, which then sat unused during periods of normal traffic. Elasticity takes the place of this waste in the cloud. For instance, if a web-based business has 10 times as many visitors on Black Friday, cloud algorithms automatically provision more virtual servers in seconds to meet the demand. These instances then cease to occur, and as a result the business only pays for the actual computing resources used.
- The Three Pillars: Understanding Cloud Service Models
Organizations identify the type of cloud service they need to select by segmenting services into three major models, also known as the “cloud computing stack.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS is the most basic layer of the cloud stack. Organizations do not buy their own servers and networking equipment, but instead lease raw computing power from companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. The provider takes care of the physical data center while the client is responsible for operating systems, storage and deployed applications.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS hides the underlying OS and hardware and provides developers with a fully functional platform on which to build, test, and deploy applications. Platforms such as Heroku or AWS Elastic Beanstalk take care of the server setup, database management and runtime configuration so that the software engineer can focus on coding.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
The layer that consumers are familiar with is SaaS. In this case, all end-user applications run in the cloud and are accessed via internet browsers or other apps. Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Dropbox and Netflix are just some of the solutions which remove the need to download local installations or manually manage updating. The provider takes care of all the details.
- Cloud Deployment Models: Public, Private and Hybrid
Organizations deploy cloud environments based on their unique security, compliance and performance requirements:
Public Cloud: Resources are owned and maintained by a third party vendor and shared across multiple tenants on the public internet. This provides the best scalability and cost-effectiveness.
Private Cloud: Computing resources are used only by one organisation, either in-house or provided by a third party. The design is ideal for industries that have strict data governance requirements, like healthcare and defense.
Hybrid and Multi-Cloud: By integrating public and private cloud, organizations can secure the most sensitive data on private cloud while taking advantage of the flexibility of public cloud for fluctuating workloads.
Learn why cloud computing is important for everyone.
Cloud Computing isn’t just an enterprise IT issue, it can impact the modern digital economy.
Small businesses can experience innovation at their level.Innovation for small businesses is within reach.
Pre-the cloud, there was a significant capital cost of tens of thousands of dollars to launch a digital startup, with the need to purchase servers and bandwidth. Today, the enterprise can be built in minutes for pennies per hour, with a single entrepreneur and laptop computer. This low barrier to entry spurs innovation worldwide, even for small teams of entrepreneurs who can quickly scale up and compete with industry leaders.
Resilient, global reach and convenience every day
Cloud architecture features built-in redundancy. As a result, in the event of a serious storm striking a data center in Virginia, no traffic is rerouted, resulting in no costly downtime. The cloud means that people never have to worry about losing the years of memories, contacts, or documents if they lose their smartphone. Your digital life is safe, synchronised and easily accessible from any replacement device.
The “Invisible” Engine of Modern Technology.
The advent of cloud computing has transformed the world’s approach to constructing information, storing information, and interacting with information. It empowers users to contribute their computing power as a flexible, easily accessible, resilient and responsive tool, and becomes the platform for exciting new technologies such as AI, the Internet of Things and real-time collaboration across the globe. The cloud is enabling organizations and individuals to become more digital agile, and is the unseen but essential fuel driving innovations of tomorrow.
