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Introduction to the basics of Cloud Computing with examples and its Types
In this article we are gonna talk about types of cloud computing, what is cloud computing with examples, basic, definition, benefits, and how cloud computing works.
Alongside this, also get to know who owns cloud computing and disadvantages of cloud computing.
What is Cloud computing?
We may have many questions like what is cloud and where is cloud located and how can we access it? So here is cloud computing meaning and definition.
In basic terms, cloud computing is storing the data and then accessing it through the internet instead of saving it in our computer’s hard drive.
When we store data and access it from our computer, it is known as local storage.
It is performed only with the help of the internet and the main advantage is that data can be accessed from anywhere as it is not stored in physical devices.
Cloud computing uses the remoter server to access data that you have saved over the internet.
How does Cloud computing work?

It works with the help of an internet connection. Different service providers manage this and provide each user with some dedicated space for free.
Cloud users can edit the documents simultaneously with other users and this makes it easy to work.
We can store all our data such as photos, videos, files, and documents in the storage space provided to us.
Cloud technology has various computers, servers, and storage systems that are connected.
Examples of Cloud computing

Some of the examples of cloud computing are as follows: –
Google Drive
This drive is built-in Google’s web-based operating system and is a pure cloud computing service.
We can work with google docs, google sheets, etc. We can use these not only on desktop computers but also on mobiles or iPad.
Some of the cloud services given by google are Gmail, google maps, google calendar, etc.
We get 15 GB of free space in the drive with google cloud services.
Amazon’s Cloud Drive
Amazon drive is another secure storage service for photos, files, and documents. Every amazon customer gets 5 GB of free storage.
Apple iCloud
With this apple’s service, we can use it for online storage and mail, contact, calendar synchronization.
Apple provides some the cloud services like Pages, Numbers, Keynote.
Who is the owner of the Cloud?
Cloud computing was invented by Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider in the 1960s to connect people and data.
Cloud is a collection of large servers and some of the world’s largest corporations own it.
They provide us the best cloud service and some of them are Microsoft, IBM, Google.
Without the internet, users cannot access cloud services or applications.
Types of Cloud computing
Cloud computing has three main types of services. They are classified as follows: –
Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)
This type of cloud service is a basic category that provides the users to rent the IT infrastructure such as operating system, servers, virtual machines, storage, etc.
Platform-as-a-service (PaaS)
This type of cloud computing service provides the users with a platform to develop, test, and deliver any software applications.
Users can also manage it online and create different apps without having to set up the servers or databases manually.
Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
This type of cloud service provides the user to deliver the software application through the internet.
This service helps you to host and manage the software application.
8 Benefits of Cloud computing
Below are a few important benefits of using cloud computing –
Backup data
It is very easy to get the backup and recovery of our data once our data is stored in a cloud. Hence we can save time if we need to recover some data.
High speed
These cloud computing systems are so vast that we get the required data within seconds making them more flexible.
Cost-saving
This is the most important advantage as we need not invest in buying physical hard drives to store the data.
Also, we need not have to maintain the hard drive. Managing this is performed by a cloud service provider and hence it eases our work making it easy to maintain.
The servers are very well maintained by service providers with very little downtime.
Mobility
People working anywhere across the globe can access the data once it is stored in the cloud.
This makes it very easy for anyone to use and the only thing that is required would be an internet connection.
Reliability
With cloud computing, data backup and recovery is easier and not very expensive as the data is mirrored at the cloud provider’s network.
Even if the hardware fails, data loss does not happen as there is network backup in place always.
Quick deployment
Fast deployment is one of the advantages of cloud computing. The entire system is functional within minutes and we need not wait for long.
Unlimited storage
This cloud provides unlimited space on its network. At any point in time, we can increase our storage for some minimal fees which is better than investing in expensive hard disks.
Collaboration
Cloud computing helps people who are working in different countries across the globe to work together easily and securely.
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6 Disadvantages of Cloud computing
Some of the disadvantages of using cloud computing are: –
Performance Issue
when we are working on a cloud application, which is running a server there may be thousands of users who are accessing the same server too. This may sometimes lead to performance issues.
To work on the cloud, we must always be connected to the internet if there is an issue with the network providers, we may not be able to access the cloud.
Security threat
Cloud computing comes with the fact that we are sharing sensitive information with third-party cloud computing service providers.
There is always a possibility that hackers may hack the server.
Downtime
Another drawback with cloud computing is the downtime that we may face as the cloud provider may see some power failures, slow internet, server maintenance, etc.
Technical issues
If we see some technical issues, we have a dependency on the provider’s support, as we cannot fix it ourselves.
Some providers do not support round the clock and hence we may need to wait.
This lack of support becomes tedious for non-technical persons.
Bandwidth issues
Users are imposed with some limit on bandwidth by the cloud service providers. So if we surpass the limit, we may need to pay the extra amount.
Conclusion:-
With both the advantages and disadvantages we have observed, Cloud computing is one of the most important and fastest-growing network-based computing in the current industry.
Most of the organizations today from start-ups to large organizations are using this technology to create different apps, store data, backup and recover data.
