The Cloud Computing services have become a popular option for personal use and businesses for several reasons, including cost savings, increased productivity, speed, efficiency, performance, and security. This article discusses cloud computing, its importance, categories, and market value.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is simply computing over the internet. Cloud computing can be defined as the use of off-site systems that allow users to process, manage, store, and transfer information or computing resources. More specifically, cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet. Cloud computing is the most brilliant technological innovation of the 21st century.
Cloud computing delivers computing services to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. Cloud computing services include servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the cloud, and you will pay only for the services you use. Cloud computing services offer lower operating costs, run user infrastructure more efficiently, and scale as business needs change. It is a big shift from the traditional way companies think about IT resources.
“I don’t need a hard disk in my computer if I can get to the server faster… carrying around these non-connected computers is byzantine by comparison.” — Steve Jobs, Co-founder, Apple Inc.
What are the Catigories of Cloud Computing?
Cloud Computing can be divided into three basic categories:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) refers to online services that provide high-level APIs that abstract various low-level details of underlying network infrastructure, including physical computing resources, data partitioning, scaling, security, and backup. Cloud providers supply IaaS-resources on demand from large equipment pools installed in data centers and typically bill on a utility computing basis.
Platform as a service (PaaS) delivers hardware and software tools over the internet. It is a complete development and deployment environment in the cloud that enables the delivery of everything from simple cloud-based apps to sophisticated, cloud-enabled enterprise applications. PaaS allows users to avoid the expense and complexity; users manage the applications and services they develop, and the PaaS provider typically manages everything else.
Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model over the internet. The SaaS provider offers the consumer to use their applications or services running on cloud infrastructure, and the applications are accessible from various client devices through a client interface or a program interface.
“If someone asks me what cloud computing is, I try not to get bogged down with definitions. I tell them that, simply put, cloud computing is a better way to run your business.” — Marc Benioff, Founder, Salesforce
Why is Cloud Computing important?
Cloud computing providers offer flexibility, data recovery, little maintenance, easy access, and a high level of security. It is part of a business model that helps drive innovations and services worldwide with fast computing deliveries. Before cloud computing, companies had stored all their data and software on their hard drives and Servers, which was slow, more complex, and less secure.
Cloud computing made supporting continuous modern industry growth easier with scalability, innovation, cost-effectiveness, enhanced compliance and security, flexibility, reduced complexity of IT infrastructure management, and multiple service offerings.
“Cloud computing is really a no-brainer for any start-up because it allows you to test your business plan very quickly for little money. Every start-up, or even a division within a company that has an idea for something new, should be figuring out how to use cloud computing in its plan.” — Brad Jefferson, Animoto CEO. 2009.
How are growing global Cloud Computing markets?
According to Grand View Research [1], the global cloud computing market value was USD 368.97 billion in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 1,554.94 billion by 2030, registering a compound annual growth rate of 15.7% from 2022 to 2030.
“There was a time when every household, town, farm or village had its own water well. Today, shared public utilities give us access to clean water by simply turning on the tap; cloud computing works in a similar fashion. Just like water from the tap in your kitchen, cloud computing services can be turned on or off quickly as needed. Like at the water company, there is a team of dedicated professionals making sure the service provided is safe, secure and available on a 24/7 basis. When the tap isn’t on, not only are you saving water, but you aren’t paying for resources you don’t currently need.” — Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO, United States Government, 2010.
