Technology

What is cloud computing, and why should you care?

Welcome to another exciting series of information and insights into next-gen technology. This time, it’s Cloud Computing!

Cloud computing is one of the most valuable innovations of recent years, and it will continue to grow in value and importance in the coming decades. But what exactly is cloud computing? Where did it come from? How has it changed the lives of billions of people around the world?

Let’s take a closer look at these questions while also exploring what experts predict for the future of cloud computing, so you can decide if it’s worth your time and effort to dive into this fascinating world on your own.

What Is Cloud Computing?

You’ve probably heard of cloud computing before, but what is it? Cloud computing delivers services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (the cloud) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.

File storage

The most popular use case of cloud computing is file storage. It is an excellent option for businesses that need to store a large amount of data, as the cloud can handle more storage than most on-premises solutions. Cloud computing services, such as Amazon S3, DropBox, or OneDrive, offer secure access to cloud storage, with scaling options that adapt to your budget and storage needs.

Data backups and archiving

Traditional methods for data backup have proved effective in storing data for an extended period. However, they are susceptible to virus attacks, and due to their portability, they could be lost and threaten modern-day businesses.

Cloud-based backup and archive are the solutions to these problems. It’s straightforward to set up and offers the highest level of security for your data. This method allows you to archive or back up your private documents to cloud-based storage. This ensures that your information is in good shape even if the live data is compromised.

IaaS and PaaS

Companies are switching towards cloud computing, whose pay-per-use pricing system provides an ideal blend of performance and cost-effectiveness. By using IaaS, also known as Infrastructure as a Service, you can eliminate your VMware license costs and all the hardware your virtual servers run on.

IaaS allows you to create virtual machines, referred to as “instances,” in the cloud, and you do not have to manage any of the equipment or software for hosting.

But what happens if you don’t have the time or desire to manage the instances or the operating systems they run on? This is where Platform as a Service (PaaS) comes in. When using the PaaS computing model, you upload your application onto the cloud platform and start using it without having to manage the operating systems or the instances.

Communication

Cloud computing has transformed the way businesses communicate. It’s now possible to have real-time conversations with customers and employees no matter where they are. And thanks to cloud-based communication solutions such as WhatsApp and Skype, businesses can hold virtual meetings and conferences without ever having to leave the office.

The history of cloud computing

Before the emergence of cloud computing, the Client-Server architecture was popular in which most controls and client data resided on the server.

In 1961, John MacCharty spoke at MIT that computing could be sold as a utility, like water and electricity. It was a brilliant idea in John MacCharty’s view, but it would take some time for it to catch on. This particular form of computing was too cumbersome for the natives, so they gave up on it, and very few people spent any time studying it. But after some time, the technology had caught on and realized its potential; this was so in 1999.

Amazon began offering services ranging from server hosting to databases in 2002. 2006 brought us Elastic Compute Cloud, an innovative Amazon commercial service now open to the public.

In 2009, Google Play provided cloud computing, just as companies would eventually follow the trend and provide their cloud services. Microsoft Azure followed in the year. Thus, Microsoft Azure and the like started appearing from 2009 to the present. Now, cloud computing has become an essential skill to adopt in today’s society.

Cloud categories based on service models

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

This is a category of IT infrastructure you can lease from a cloud service provider in a pay-as-you-go model that includes servers, networks, and others. The most significant benefit of IaaS is that you can access all the features you provisioned, and some grant you access to root levels. EC2 or AWS Elastic Compute Cloud is an excellent illustration of IaaS.

PaaS (Platform as a Service)

In this kind of arrangement, it is provided with a pre-built platform by the cloud service providers, on which you can run your codes and applications. You only need to manage the code and the apps instead of the overall infrastructure. The AWS Elastic Beanstalk is an illustration of a PaaS cloud.

SaaS (Software as a Service)

Cloud service providers will provide you with the final product, which may be a software or application which you purchase directly through a subscription. In these services, the user is in charge of the software’s environment but is not responsible for any hardware. There are a few products from AWS as well as Microsoft Azure that offer SaaS.

Overall Market Value for India in Cloud Computing

  • Revenues from the public cloud market will hit US $4.58bn in 2022.
  • The most significant segment of the market is IaaS, with the market expected to reach US$2.18bn by 2022.
  • Revenue is predicted to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 20.49 %, resulting in market size of US$11.64bn in 2027.
  • The average cost per employee in the cloud is expected to be US$8.93 in 2022.
  • Globally, most revenues will come from the United States (US$201.40bn in 2022).

Cloud computing plays a significant role in how we live today – the apps we use, the services we consume, how we communicate, and how we collaborate with our colleagues for work. Given the benefits of cloud computing and the predictions of its growth, we can expect more ways cloud computing impacts our life.

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