INTRODUCTION TO CLOUD COMPUTING

There is no Cloud, it’s just someone else’s Computer

This is true…. but much more…

Cloud is not just someone else's computer. Yes, I know 'Third Party Hardware'. Before now, Some Tech Companies built Data Centers for themselves to use in-House. Of Late, some of these Organizations like Microsoft, Google, Oracle, and IBM have started renting out part of their resources in their Data Centers out for a price using Cloud Computing. These resources can be in terms of Software as a Service (e.g. Gmail), Infrastructure as a Service (Google Compute Engine), or even Platform as a Service (e.g. App Engine in G Cloud).

So what is Cloud Computing?

What Cloud Computing is differs from Individual perspectives to Team perspectives to Organization perspectives, etc. To some, Cloud Computing is a technology for storing and streaming Data (streaming like Netflix and storing like Google Drive). And to another, Cloud Computing is used because it allows them to deploy easily and scale up the system to reduce pressure. And to another, it’s a technology that allows them to reduce cost and human resources.

Cloud Computing has been the next big thing for a while in IT. Everyone is going on a cloud!?Most people have been using cloud technologies without them even realizing it e.g. Gmail, Office 365, Salesforce, etc

The benefit of Cloud Computing

Generally, Cloud Computing is cost-effective, easier to use, makes works relatively fast, and facilitates the access of resources from any location and any device with an internet connection, etc. The beauty of Cloud Computing is that all these benefits can be prioritized; to some is to reduce cost while to some is for convenience (easy to use, scale-up/down, and access), and to some Cloud Computing makes work faster.

Before now, the IT world was using only Traditional Computing (On-Premise Computing). They use servers that were kept on-site, inside their companies' premises. And now, the IT world can use both Cloud Computing and the On-Premise Computing as distinct technology, as hybrid (mixture of both Technologies

Cloud Product and Services

Cloud Products and Services are intangible. There are many companies and businesses, out there, which provide Cloud Services and Products. Most of the popular ones are IBM Cloud, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, GitLab, and Netflix, etc.

Cloud Computing requires the Internet

Cloud is not the same as the Internet. The Internet allows us to have the access to other devices and Technologies. Cloud Computing is one of the Technologies that uses an Internet Connection but it is not the same as the Internet.

Characteristics of Cloud Computing

Resources Pooling: Clients have access to resources but these resources are shared among several clients, providing each client with a distinct set of services.

On-Demand Self Services: The client can access any resources at any time without human interaction with the Service Provider.

Rapid Elasticity: Cloud can instinctively expand or compress the infrastructural resources in response to changing demands for a small period (dynamic changes) e.g. Holiday Sales that cause a sudden spike in web traffic.

Scalability: Cloud can increase or decrease the IT resources in response to static changes in demands e.g. other competitors closing down that cause sudden or gradual increase in web traffic.

Broad Network Access: Resources can be accessed over the network by different kinds of Clients like Mobile Phones, Laptops, and workstations)

Availability: Cloud resources are available any time client needs them.