Introduction to Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases,
networking, software, and more—over the internet ("the cloud"). Instead of owning their own
computing infrastructure or data centers, organizations can rent access to anything from
applications to storage from a cloud service provider.
Key Characteristics:
On-demand self-service
Broad network access
Resource pooling
Rapid elasticity
Measured service
Cloud Models:
Public Cloud (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
Private Cloud (exclusive use by one organization)
Hybrid Cloud (combination of public and private)
Cloud Service Models:
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) – Virtualized computing resources
PaaS (Platform as a Service) – Development platforms
SaaS (Software as a Service) – End-user applications