What is Cloud Computing?

In one statement, Cloud computing is the delivery of on-demand IT resources over the internet. The companies that offer these computing services are called Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). CSPs charge users/organizations based on Cloud resources used through a variety of billing models. Cloud resources are the resources that are abstracted from the underlying physical hardware with the help of a Hypervisor. But there is a lot of confusion about Cloud computing because there are multiple types of services and deployment models that fall under the umbrella that is Cloud computing.  This article will help you clear the basic concepts of Cloud computing.

There are 4 types of Cloud deployment models:

• Public Cloud
• Private Cloud
• Hybrid Cloud
• Community Cloud

These deployment models differ on the basis of implementation type, hosting type and who has access to it. All Cloud deployment models are based on the same principle of Virtualization (abstraction of resources from bare metal hardware) but differ in terms of location, storage capacity, accessibility, and more. Depending on the type of data you are working with, you will want to compare Public, Private, Hybrid, and Community Clouds in terms of different levels of security they offer and the management required.

• Public Cloud

The entire computing infrastructure is located on the premises of the CSP that offers Cloud services over the internet. This is the most economical option for those individuals/organizations that do not wish to invest in IT infrastructure. In a Public Cloud environment, the resources are shared between multiple users who are also called ‘Tenants’ The cost of using Cloud services is determined through the usage of IT resources consumed.

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