Modern Business and Cloud Computing

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud Computing is on-demand access, via the internet, to computing resources-applications, servers (physical and virtual servers), data storage, development tools, networking capabilities, and more-hosted at a remote data center managed by a Cloud Service Provider (CSP).

Instead of keeping files on a proprietary hard drive or local storage device, cloud-based storage makes it possible to save them to a remote database. In other words, we can say, it is the delivery of on-demand computing services-from applications to storage and processing power, typically over the internet. The cloud service provider makes these resources available for a monthly subscription fee on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Why Cloud Computing?

The cloud computing sector is developing fast as modern businesses switch to cloud-based software solutions and move away from on-premises servers. These development allow for the workload to be more portable. This is the fundamental change in the way modern businesses operate.

Most of modern businesses of every type, size, and industry are using the cloud for a wide variety of use cases, such as data backup, disaster recovery, email, virtual desktops, software development, big data analytics, and etc.

Cloud in the modern business world

Traditional on-premises IT, and depending on the cloud service selected, cloud computing helps to develop the business fast in an effective way.

Some businesses maintain all apps and data on the cloud, while others use a hybrid model by keeping some apps and data on their own private servers and others on the cloud.

When comes to providing these services, the giants in the corporate computing world include:

⦁ Amazon Web Services (AWS)

⦁ Microsoft Azure

⦁ IBM Cloud

⦁ Google Cloud

⦁ Alibaba Cloud

Types of Cloud Computing

⦁ Public Cloud

These are owned and operated by third-party cloud service providers, which deliver their computing resources, like servers and storage, over the internet. Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, AWS are examples of public cloud. The public cloud provider owns, manages, and assumes all the responsibility for the data centers, hardware, and infrastructure on which its customers’ workload runs, and it typically provides high-bandwidth network connectivity to ensure high performance and rapid access to application and data. One can access these services and manage their account using a web browser.

⦁ Private Cloud

A Private Cloud is a cloud environment in which all cloud infrastructure and computing resources are used exclusively by, a single customer only. A private cloud can be physically located on the company’s on-site data center. But it can also be hosted on an independent cloud provider’s infrastructure or built on rented infrastructure housed in an offsite data center. Many businesses choose private cloud, instead of public cloud because the private cloud is an easier way to meet their regulatory requirement. While others choose private cloud because their workload deals with confidential documents, intellectual property, or other sensitive data.

⦁ Hybrid Cloud

A Hybrid Cloud is a combination of public and private clouds, bound together by technology that allows data and applications to be shared between them. A hybrid cloud connects a company’s private cloud services and public clouds into a single, flexible infrastructure for running the company’s applications and workloads. This enables the organization to meet its technical and business objectives more effectively and cost-effectively than it could with public or private cloud alone.

Cloud Computing Services

⦁ SaaS (Software as a Service)

SaaS is a method for delivering software applications over the internet. In most cases, SaaS users pay a monthly or annual subscription fee, some may offer ‘pay-as-you-go’ pricing based on usage. With SaaS, cloud providers host and manage the software application and underlying infrastructure, and handle any maintenance, like software upgrades and security patching.

Users connect to the applications over the internet, usually with a web browser on the phone, tablet, or PC. this type of system can be found in Microsoft Office 365.

⦁ IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

The most basic category of cloud computing services. IaaS provides on-demand access to fundamental computing resources-physical and virtual servers, networking, and storage-over the internet-from the cloud provider on a pay-as-you-go basis. Clients avoid the need to purchase software or servers and instead procure these resources in an outsourced, on-demand service. Popular examples of IaaS systems include Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud.

⦁ PaaS (Platform as a Service)

PaaS refers to cloud computing services that supply an on-demand environment for developing, testing, delivering, managing software applications. PaaS shares some similarities with SaaS, the primary difference is that instead of delivering software online, it is actually a platform for creating software that is delivered through the internet. The cloud provider hosts everything-servers, networks, storage, OS, databases, at their data center. It is easy for developers to quickly create web or mobile apps, without worrying about setting up or managing the underlying infrastructure of servers, storage, network, and databases needed for development. This model includes platforms like Heroku, Google App Engine, and Force.com.

⦁ Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is a cloud computing model that offloads all the backend infrastructure management tasks-provisioning, scaling, scheduling, patching to the cloud provider, freeing developers to focus all their time and effort on the code and business logic specific to their applications. AWS Lambda, Microsoft Azure Functions, Google Cloud Functions, and IBM OpenWhisk are well-known examples of serverless services offered by the cloud.

Benefits of Cloud Computing for Business

⦁ Cost savings

Cloud offload some or most of the costs and effort of purchasing, installing, configuring, and managing your own on-premises infrastructure.

⦁ Agility

The cloud gives easy access to a broad range of technologies, so businesses can innovate faster and build nearly anything that can imagine.

⦁ Global scale

With the cloud, businesses can expand to new geographic locations and deploy in minutes. Putting applications in closer proximity to end users reduces latency and improves their experience.

⦁ Performance

The popular cloud services run on a worldwide network of secure data centers, which are regularly upgraded to the latest generation of fast and efficient computing hardware. This reduced network latency for applications and greater economies of scale.

⦁ Reliability

Data backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity easier and less expensive because the data can be checked at multiple redundant sites on the cloud provider’s network.