Cloud computing

What is the cloud? Where is the cloud? Are we in the cloud now? These are all questions you've probably heard or even asked yourself. The term "cloud computing" is everywhere

Definition:    

Cloud computing metaphor: the group of networked elements providing services need not be individually addressed or managed by users; instead, the entire provider-managed suite of hardware and software can be thought of as an amorphous cloud.

There are three types of cloud computing 

Public private and hybrid cloud

In the simplest terms, cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer's hard drive. The cloud is just a metaphor for the Internet. It goes back to the days of flowcharts and presentations that would represent the gigantic server-farm infrastructure of the Internet as nothing but a puffy,white cumulus clouds, connections and doling out information as it floats.

Benefits of cloud computing 

Agility

The cloud gives you easy access to a broad range of technologies so that you can innovate faster and build nearly anything that you can imagine. You can quickly spin up resources as you need them–from infrastructure services, such as compute, storage, and databases, to Internet of Things, machine learning, data lakes and analytics, and much more.

You can deploy technology services in a matter of minutes, and get from idea to implementation several orders of magnitude faster than before. This gives you the freedom to experiment, test new ideas to differentiate customer experiences, and transform your business

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Security

 Man organizations have security concerns when it comes to adopting a cloud-computing solution. After all, when files, programs, and other data aren't kept securely onsite, how can you know that they are being protected? If you can remotely access your data, then what's stopping a cybercriminal from doing the same thing? Well, quite a bit, actually.
For one thing, a cloud host's full-time job is to carefully monitor security, which is significantly more efficient than a conventional in-house system, where an organization must divide its efforts between a myriad of IT concerns, with security being only one of them. And while most businesses don't like to openly consider the possibility of internal data theft, the truth is that a staggeringly high percentage of data thefts occur internally and are perpetrated by employees. When this is the case, it can actually be much safer to keep sensitive information offsite. Of course, this is all very abstract, so let's consider some solid statistics.

Flexibility: 

Your business has only a finite amount of focus to divide between all of its responsibilities. If your current IT solutions are forcing you to commit too much of your attention to computer and data-storage issues, then you aren't going to be able to concentrate on reaching business goals and satisfying customers. On the other hand, by relying on an outside organization to take care of all IT hosting and infrastructure, you'll have more time to devote toward the aspects of your business that directly affect your bottom line.
The cloud offers businesses more flexibility overall versus hosting on a local server. And, if you need extra bandwidth, a cloud-based service can meet that demand instantly, rather than undergoing a complex (and expensive) update to your IT infrastructure. This improved freedom and flexibility can make a significant difference to the overall efficiency of your organization

Disaster recovery

Data loss is a major concern for all organizations, along with data security. Storing your data in the cloud guarantees that data is always available, even if your equipment like laptops or PCs, is damaged. Cloud-based services provide quick data recovery for all kinds of emergency scenarios -- from natural disasters to power outages.

Cloud infrastructure can also help you with loss prevention. If you rely on traditional on-premises approach, all your data will be stored locally, on office computers. Despite your best efforts, computers can malfunction from various reasons -- from malware and viruses, to age-related hardware deterioration, to simple user error.

But, if you upload your data to the cloud, it remains accesible for any computer with an internet connection, even if something happens to your work computer.

Control

Having control over sensitive data is vital to any company. You never know what can happen if a document gets into the wrong hands, even if it’s just the hands of an untrained employee.

Cloud enables you complete visibility and control over your data. You can easily decide which users have what level of access to what data. This gives you control, but it also streamlines work since staff will easily know what documents are assigned to them. It will also increase and ease collaboration. Since one version of the document can be worked on by different people, and there's no need to have copies of the same document in circulation.