What is Cloud Computing?

Is Cloud Computing just a buzzword? Or has it really changed the way we work, store and access data?

Keep reading to find out!

Scope

Here’s what we will discuss in this blog:

• What is Cloud Computing?
• Benefits of Cloud Computing
• How does Cloud Computing work?
• Why learn about Cloud Computing?

Let’s start with the main question…

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud Computing is the on-demand delivery of computing services like servers, storage, and applications over the Internet.

Historically, if you or a company wanted to run an application, you had to purchase your own hardware and software. Then you had to manage them yourself or hire someone else to do it. This was both expensive and slow.

With Cloud Computing, you can get instant access to computing resources, often with pay-as-you-go pricing. This allows you to instantly access computing resources without having to purchase, maintain, and upgrade your own hardware and software.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Why does Cloud Computing even exist? The answer lies in its numerous benefits.

1. Cost Savings: With cloud computing, you don’t have to invest in expensive hardware or IT infrastructure upfront like in the past. You only pay for infrastructure and services that you use and when you use them. Companies using Cloud Computing gain a huge competitive advantage as they can focus more on building their products and teams, instead of paying big upfront infrastructure and maintenance costs.
2. Agility: Instead of waiting for weeks or months to buy, configure and deploy servers by yourself, you can get instant access to computing services over the Internet with the Cloud. Businesses can build their applications and reach their customer magnitudes faster than what was possible before – accelerating innovation!
3. Flexibility: In today’s fast-paced ever-changing world of technology, businesses need to be able to quickly adapt to new circumstances as they arise. Being able to access computing services on-demand, without needing to commit long-term, allows companies the flexibility to change their plans and overcome unanticipated obstacles.
4. Scalability: Cloud computing services are elastic – meaning, you can add more resources when you need them and reduce your usage when you don’t need them. The result? Unmatched Scalability! Cloud Computing has enabled companies like Netflix, Uber, Twitch, and many others, to scale to behemoth sizes.
5. Global Reach: With Cloud Computing, you can reach multiple geographic locations that would have been very expensive to reach otherwise. The Cloud allows you to deploy your applications across the world in minutes and access them from anywhere, anytime through the Internet. By running your applications closer to your customers, you can reduce latency, as well as, improve performance and user experience.

I’m sure many more Cloud Computing benefits can be listed, such as better disaster recovery, security, collaboration, etc.

But let’s dive a little deeper…

How does Cloud Computing work?

As the joke goes: “There is no Cloud, just someone else’s computer.”

This may be true in a naive sense, but it doesn’t paint the entire picture.

Cloud Computing IS built on a HUUUGE network of server computers that spans many data centers over multiple geographic locations.

This network of servers is maintained by Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, etc. These companies provide a wide range of computing services, including storage, processing power, and applications, that can be accessed over the Internet. When you use a cloud computing service to store your data or run your applications, you use computing resources rented out by CSPs.

The cloud provider takes care of maintaining and updating the servers, ensuring that they’re always running smoothly and that your data is always safe and secure. This can include:

• encrypting the data, protecting it with multiple levels of security, and replicating it to multiple servers for high availability and durability,
• running the virtualization layers and software on various data centers for redundancy and fault tolerance,
• auto-scaling out when the load or number of users increases, and scaling down when the load decreases,
• migrating workload to other servers when there’s a problem with one,
• counting your resource usage in detail to calculate your bills for only the amount you used,
• operating and securing the physical data centers,

And so much more!

Most of the processes are automated from A to Z. This saves time, improves efficiency, and reduces human error while enhancing security.

The amount of control and operational burden the cloud provider takes depends on the type of cloud service, which also reflects the pricing. It could be Infrastructure, Platform, or Software-as-a-Service (IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS respectively).

Cloud Computing can offer its benefits due to ‘Economies of Scale.’ By spreading the expenses over many users, a cloud provider can buy electricity, servers, networking equipment, etc. for cheaper. Team it up with large-scale automation, multiple levels of security, and some of the smartest engineers in the industry, and you will realize why Cloud Computing is often referred to as the key to digital transformation today.

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Why learn about Cloud Computing?

With the rise of cloud computing, the demand for skilled professionals in this field is only going to increase, making it an investment worth pursuing. Here are the top reasons why you should learn cloud computing:

1. High-Paying Job Opportunities: The Cloud Computing industry is growing rapidly. According to Indeed, cloud computing jobs increased by 55% between October 2015 and October 2019. Additionally, the median salary for cloud computing professionals is higher than the median salary for other IT positions; at over $100,000 per year in the USA, according to Glassdoor.
2. High Impact role: With skills in Cloud Computing, you can make a real difference in your company by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and accelerating product releases. Your skills will be in high demand and make you a valuable asset in any company.
3. Massive Learning Potential: Cloud computing has opened up an entirely new world of learning opportunities for individuals and organizations alike. Anyone can access vast amounts of information and resources from anywhere with an internet connection, making it easier to expand their knowledge and expertise in the field.
4. Freedom: With cloud computing, you can access your data and applications from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. This gives you the freedom to work from anywhere and at any time.

Conclusion

Cloud Computing is an essential technology that has revolutionized the way we work, store, and access data. Whether you’re a student, an IT professional, or a business owner, learning about cloud computing will give you the skills you need to succeed in the rapidly changing world of technology.

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Till then,

Be bold and keep learning.

But most importantly,

Tech care!

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