#general (2023-03)

What is Cloud ?

Cloud means storing, managing, and working with data and programs on faraway computers that are connected to the internet. You can access these computers anytime you want, without needing to have your own equipment. This way, you can use a lot of powerful tools and resources without having to buy them yourself.

Why Cloud ?

We all know that everything is going online these days, which means that we shop and buy food online. This generates a lot of digital data, whereas in the past, we communicated through verbal discussions and paper-based work. Since everything is moving online, we now have a huge amount of data that needs to be stored and maintained. Therefore, there is a need for a space to store this data. Cloud provides a solution to this problem by offering space for data storage, as well as taking care of issues such as cost, monitoring, maintenance, and providing sufficient space.

What is Cloud Computing ?

It is an ability or a place where you can store, process, and access your data from anywhere in the world. This is an important point to note. For example, if you decide to choose a location for your infrastructure in the US, you can still access all your data from Pakistan or anywhere in the world. As long as you have a good internet connection. This is what cloud computing does. It makes the world accessible and allows you to have applications wherever you want and manage them the way you want.

Service Models

Now, we will be discussing different service models. You need to understand one thing – you are offered cloud services, but different people have different requirements. Some people may only want to consume a particular resource, while others may want to create their own applications and infrastructure. Based on these needs, there are specific service models that cloud providers offer to suit your needs. Let us understand these models one by one.

1. Software as a Service (SaaS)

Now, what happens here is that you are essentially consuming a service which is already being maintained and handled by someone else. To give you a valid example, we have Gmail. In Gmail, all you do is send and receive emails. You just use the service, and you do not have to maintain or worry about upscaling, downscaling, or other technical details. In Gmail, everything is taken care of by Google, and all you have to do is consume the service. This model is known as Software as a Service (SaaS).

1. Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Now, you are provided with a platform where you can build your own applications. To give you an example, we have Google App Engine. With Google App Engine, you can create your own applications and host them so that others can use them too. In short, you are using the platform to create your own application.

1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Here in IaaS, the whole infrastructure is provided to you so that you can go and create your own applications. The underlying structure is given to you, based on which you can choose your operating systems, the kind of technology you want to use on that platform, the applications you want to build, and so on. That is what IaaS is all about.

You will be able to understand the difference between SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS well from the picture below.

Deployment Models

“Now, when you talk about different deployment models, you can also refer to them as different types of clouds available in the market. There are three types of clouds.

1. Public Cloud

Now, as the name suggests, the public cloud is available to everyone. A service provider makes these services available to people worldwide through the internet. It is an easy and inexpensive way to deal with the situation because all you have to do is rent this cloud, and you are good to use it..

1. Private Cloud

Now, this is a little different. Here, you are provided with a service, and you can actually create your own application since it’s a private cloud. You are protected by a firewall, so you do not have to worry about various other issues.

1. Hybrid Cloud

It is a combination of your private and public cloud. For example, you can build your applications privately and use them efficiently. When you sense that it’s peak time in terms of traffic, you can move them to the public cloud, and others can access and use them.

Cloud Providers

There are different cloud providers in the market, as I mentioned earlier. When you talk about these cloud providers, the first thing that comes to mind is Amazon Web Services because it is highly popular and leaves other cloud providers far behind. The reason I am saying this is because of the numbers that talk about Amazon Web Services. After Amazon, the second most popular cloud provider is Microsoft Azure, and after Microsoft Azure, the third most popular cloud provider is Google Cloud Platform. It is again a very good cloud provider in the market. The reason I’m saying this is that we all know the infrastructure that Google offers to you. It is one of the best search engines in the market, and the amount of data they deal with daily is huge..

If you are new to cloud computing and don’t know much about it, you don’t have to worry. In this series of Cloud Computing, we will explore these cloud providers one by one. This was the first blog of the Cloud Computing Series. I hope that now you have a little idea about cloud computing. If you have any suggestions, do let me know in the comment section below. See you soon on the next blog, which will be on Amazon Web Services.

The Pasadena Convention Center is LEED® Gold Certified; features 125,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and a 3,000 seat historic auditorium.