Three types of Cloud Computing – An Introduction

According to Oxford, cloud computing is a term referring to the process of utilizing several separate servers to manage, store, and analyze data through a shared network. By definition it seems simple enough, no? But then what is all this hype surrounding cloud computing?

In this article, we will learn all about cloud computing, including what it is, what are the types, and what the major benefits and cons of integrating it in your system?

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is the integration of all your business or personal storage needs in the cloud. It provides you with remote access to a data storage tool. One of the main reasons for it to be extremely famous today is the fact that it is incredibly versatile and can act as an instant storage solution for many businesses.

In the past few years, cloud computing has revolutionized the entire IT infrastructure. It has made access to affordable data servers with no physical or data storage limitations.

Previously, many companies struggled to find a reliable and cost-effective storage solution for their data. Cloud computing has brought about a solution to these problems, among many others.

Therefore, no IT company today can function without the cloud. All companies are now hiring a resource to help them leverage cloud technology, which has opened up several new career paths, such as cloud security engineers, cloud managers, and many more.

Currently, there are many enterprises offering cloud computing services such as IBM, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and many more. But, the three market giants have a real monopoly in their hands, which are:

• Amazon Web Services
• Microsoft Azure
• Google Cloud Platform

However, one should always select their cloud provider based on what aligns with their companies’ ideology and what they want in the future.

Types of Cloud Computing

There are three main models of Cloud Computing. These models are also known as the “Cloud Computing Stack”.  The three models are:

• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Software as a Service

Software as a Service, popularly know by its abbreviated from SaaS, is a downloadable software which has many benefits.

Such software is available for both personal and business use, they provide you with an open space to store, organize, and manage your data without the pressure of maintaining physical servers. Furthermore, the data is basically on the cloud, which is the host’s property. Therefore, you do not need to worry about either space or security.

You can get access to as much space as you require, by paying a certain fee. Each provider has a different payment strategy, which allows you to pay at your ease.

Moreover, the software is updated at regular intervals, so you most definitely do not need to upgrade the system manually. Usually, the host checks its service to identify vulnerabilities regularly.

All you need to leverage the power the SaaS is a functional internet connection, and you are good to go!

Some examples of famous SaaS tools are Google Apps, Salesforce, Dropbox, Slack, and Hubspot. People use them almost every day as part of their jobs, without sometimes realizing that they are SaaS.

Platform as a Service

Platform as a Service,  (PaaS), inherently allows more flexibility compared to SaaS. For starters, PaaS allows users or developers to design and create their environment. Furthermore, as a PaaS is usually used by companies, it is made to allow a much more scalable environment to cope with heavy traffic, high-level security, and ever-evolving needs of a business.

PaaS also supports a Pay as you go, model, which means that you don’t have to pay for the entire service upfront, reducing your financial libability. You can add more GBs or space in your plan as the need arises. At the same time, you can also let off space you previously had if you decide to scale down.

This feature allows you to scale up and scale down on your convenience, without overwhelming yourself with space issues. Therefore, if you own a highly scalable business, Platform as a Service can act as your savior.

There are many PaaS cloud services in the market today, such as AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Force.com, OpenShift, and Magento Commerce Cloud.

Microsoft Azure is an excellent PaaS provider.

Infrastructure as a Service

The infrastructure as a Service(IaaS) model offers the most flexible plan out of all the 3 cloud computing models. Here, the cloud is only responsible for providing the hosting service, and the user is free to create the infrastructure according to their needs.

One can easily learn how to design, create, and manage IaaS, with the help of multiple courses available online.

With IaaS, you have a high chance of optimizing costs and establishing a customizable cloud environment for your firm at the same time. The service provider will ensure that you have a compatible level of security, space, and organizational options to run the cloud infrastructure.

With the help of IaaS, organizations can quickly set up a server, without the hassle of setting up physical servers manually. You do have to set up the servers here as well, but it is more of a one time job, rather than doing it over and over again. The IaaS allows you to schedule updates and check-ups as well.

The payment option for IaaS are similar to PaaS, therefore, this also offers an excellent scaling environment.