Users of computers and computing services are constantly looking for a way to make their work easier and free flowing. This constant need to improve has conceptualized Cloud computing.

Cloud computing is the on-demand provision of computer system resources, particularly processing power and data storage (cloud storage), without direct active supervision by the user. Anything that includes providing hosted services through the internet is referred to as “cloud computing” in general. Large clouds frequently spread their functions among several sites, each of which is a data centre. Cloud computing often employs a pay-as-you-go model and depends on resource sharing to accomplish coherence, which can assist reduce capital expenditures but potentially result in unforeseen running expenses for users. 

Cloud-based computing enables you to store files to a distant database as opposed to maintaining them on a proprietary hard drive or local storage device. The data and the software needed to execute it are accessible to any electronic device that can access the internet.

Cost savings, higher productivity, speed and efficiency, performance, and security are just a few of the benefits that make cloud computing a popular choice for both individuals and corporations.

These services are broken down into three primary categories or sorts of cloud computing: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS).

A cloud may be either public or private. Anyone with access to the internet can purchase services from a public cloud. A private cloud is a proprietary network or data centre that offers hosted services to a small group of users with specific access and rights settings. Whether private or public, cloud computing aims to offer simple, scalable access to computer resources and IT services.

The origins of cloud computing may be traced to the 1960s, when Remote Job Entry (RJE) helped popularize the first time-sharing ideas. During this time, the “data centre” model—where customers gave operators jobs to execute on mainframes—was largely in use. This was a period of investigation and experimentation on methods to increase end-user efficiency, optimize the infrastructure, platform, and applications, and make large-scale computing power accessible to more people. 

With the founding of Amazon Web Services in 2002, which enabled developers to freely develop, applications, the use of cloud computing started to take shape in the 2000s.The introduction of many cloud services occurred throughout the next decade. Microsoft released Microsoft Azure in 2010, while NASA and Rackspace Hosting started working on OpenStack, an open-source cloud computing project. Oracle unveiled the Oracle Cloud in 2012, and IBM released the IBM Smart Cloud platform in 2011. AWS Outposts, a service that extends AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools to client data centres, was introduced by Amazon in December 2019.Cloud technology has been increasingly popular since the worldwide pandemic of 2020 because of the degree of data protection it provides and the variety of working possibilities it enables for all employees, particularly remote workers.

How does it work?

The way cloud computing operates is by allowing client devices to connect to faraway physical servers, databases, and computers over the internet to access data and cloud applications. The front end, which comprises of the client device used for access, the browser, the network, and cloud software applications, is connected to the back end, which is made up of databases, servers, and computers, via an internet network connection. Data that is accessible by the front end is stored on the back end, which serves as a repository. The front end, which consists of the accessing client device, browser, network, and cloud software applications, and the back end, which consists of databases, servers, and computers, are connected via an internet network connection. The back end serves as a repository, holding information that the front end may access.

A central server controls communications between the front and back ends. The central server uses protocols to speed up data sharing. To control communication between various client devices and cloud servers, the central server makes use of both software and middleware. Usually, each distinct application or task has its own dedicated server.

The technologies of virtualization and automation are crucial to cloud computing. Through the use of virtualization, users may quickly abstract and deploy services and the underpinning cloud systems into logical entities. Users may provision resources, connect services, and deploy workloads with a high degree of self-service because to automation and the related orchestration capabilities, all without requiring direct assistance from the cloud provider’s IT personnel.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Cloud Computing

Having heard what cloud computing is all about and how it operates, it is only natural to state the observable benefits and drawbacks of cloud computing. They are:

• Companies from all industries may profit from using cloud-based software, which can be accessed by browser or native apps on any device. Users may seamlessly transfer their data and settings from one device to another as a consequence.
• Additionally, cloud computing is much more than just having access to data across many devices. Users may check their email on any computer and save files using services like Dropbox and Google Drive thanks to cloud computing. 
• Users may back up their music, data, and images using cloud computing services, guaranteeing that they will always have access to them in the case of a hard drive accident.
• Utilizing cloud infrastructure allows businesses to save money on capital expenses by avoiding the high cost of purchasing and maintaining equipment. Because companies don’t need to invest in hardware, buildings, utilities, or the construction of massive data centres to suit their expanding operations, this lowers their capital expenditure expenditures. Additionally, because they can depend on the experience of the teams at their cloud providers, they don’t require sizable IT teams to manage cloud data centre operations. Additionally, downtime expenses are reduced via cloud computing. Because downtime is so seldom with cloud computing, businesses don’t have to spend time or money resolving potential downtime-related problems.
• Computing resources are quantified in detail, allowing customers to only pay for the workloads and resources they really utilize.

On the other hand, cloud computing has some serious drawbacks which are yet to be mitigated. These include:

• The biggest problem with cloud computing is frequently thought to be security. Organizations run the danger of data breaches, API and interface hacks, compromised passwords, and authentication problems when they rely on the cloud. 
• Furthermore, there is a lack of transparency in the way that the cloud provider manages the sensitive data that has been entrusted to them. Cloud setups, company policy, and practice must all be carefully considered in the interest of security. They could also have restricted options for modifying or customizing their cloud services to suit their particular requirements or preferences.
• Migration to the cloud is another important problem. Moving data, apps, or workloads across cloud environments, or from on-premises to the cloud, is referred to as cloud migration. When there are compatibility problems across various cloud platforms or architectures, cloud migration can be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. If not properly planned and carried out, cloud migration can potentially result in downtime, performance deterioration, or data loss.

Having stated these benefits and drawbacks, these are some of the types of Cloud computing services;

• IaaS: The term "Infrastructure as a Service" (IaaS) refers to the core computer components that may be rented: storage, networking, and real or virtual servers. 
• PaaS: The next layer is called Platform as a Service (PaaS), and it includes virtual servers, storage, networking, middleware, database management, operating systems, and other software that developers need to create applications. 
• Saas: The distribution of applications as a service, or "software as a service" (SaaS), is the form of cloud computing that most people are likely most accustomed to. The end user, who will access the service through a web browser or app, is unconcerned with the underlying hardware and operating system.

Cloud computing is all around us. Some of the popular Cloud Computing examples are:

• Google Drive
• Dropbox
• Mediafire
• AWS Lambda
• Zoom etc

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