Hello once again, and we will begin today's topic by explaining what a cloud is. Basically, a Cloud is online storage; you can store all your data online without having to worry about storing it locally. It is great for portability and accessibility and takes absolutely no space as it is completely abstract.
Evolution
Physical Servers: You know when companies followed the previously mentioned rule, one app = one server. For every different task, we could only have 1 server, which was then changed by Virtualization; we could use 100% of the hardware, and we could run multiple servers on one physical machine, and even on those virtual machines we could isolate their kernel and make even more rooms, which we call containers.
Then we had Amazon launch AWS. And they even beat Google in it. Google, thinking they were the pioneers in technology, were beaten by an online shopping store. To this day, as I am typing this in 2026, AWS is the biggest cloud service in the world. In 2012, we had Azure, Google Cloud Containers, and other stuff being launched, which were of global scale, but AWS was already dominating this cloud field.
Advantages
Scalability
We can easily increase and decrease the amount of hardware and storage we need for our application's cloud structure. This scalability is one of the biggest and most cherished advantages of a cloud.
On-demand self-service
Through proper vendors, we can create clouds at our whim and can use them with barely any delay.
Pay only for what you use
You do not have to pay for hardware or any kind of charges; there is no upfront fee you have to pay. You pay according to your use.
Security
The Security of your cloud is not one of your concerns; it is entirely left to the one providing you with your cloud services, and they ensure that their clouds are 100% secure.
High availability
If one cloud hosting machine fails, the vendors have a gazillion other machines on standby in such cases. There are never any availability issues in Cloud Computing, but only through proper vendors.
Global access
Clouds are hosted globally, and in case of SaaS, your application can be accessed by anyone on this planet as long as they are connected to the internet.
Types of Clouds
There are 3 basic and the most common types of clouds, which I have explained below.
Public Cloud
Most of the users use this kind of cloud; it is usually used in SaaS, where users have to host their applications globally so that their applications are available globally. But this kind of cloud lacks control, and you can not change its infrastructure. Though it is as scalable as any other cloud out there.
Private Cloud
This kind of cloud is used by those institutions and organizations that do not want their data to be presented online. Private clouds offer major security and ensure that your data saved in their clouds remains protected. Your data can only be accessed by you and, of course, your trusted personnel. This cloud is often used by banks that do not want their data presented to anyone else.
Hybrid Cloud
This is a mixture of a Public and a Private cloud. In this, some of your data remains completely private and isolated from any other user online else than you and your authorized individuals. And the rest of the data remains accessible online globally, just like any other SaaS application. This kind of cloud is very commonly used by e-commerce websites.
Also Read: Understanding Container Virtualization
Cloud Services
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
In this, the cloud provider just provides you with the infrastructure. Basically, the provider handles the physical hardware, and whatever runs on that is up to you. The service provider does not provide you with an operating system, but again, as it is a cloud, the security is not your concern.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
In this kind of service, you only manage the application that is running on it. The provider is responsible for providing you with an operating system and physical hardware. You just have to worry about deploying your application.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
In this kind of service, your vendor is responsible for providing you with everything: infrastructure, operating system, etc. You just access it through a browser or a mobile application. They run your application over the internet, and you simply access it. Any updates or technical issues are handled by the vendor; you are free of those issues. Security, again, is not your concern; your application is safely hosted online.
Major Cloud Providers
Microsoft Azure
Is a very famous and very reliable cloud service. Many huge organizations utilize their cloud services.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
The pioneers of cloud infrastructure, with major organizations hosting their servers on their clouds with AI-driven solutions for applications, is a major cloud vendor.
Alibaba Cloud
A major vendor in Asia offering cloud services globally, highly trusted and appreciated.
IBM Cloud
Used mainly by businesses, and they have adapted their infrastructure to fit the business needs.
Oracle Cloud
Their focus is on enterprise applications and databases.
Also Read: Why One Physical Server Can Run Multiple Virtual Machines
How Companies Are Using the Cloud
Netflix
It runs its entire platform on AWS so it can scale globally. Due to this, Netflix can stay online during peak demand and is able to stream its content to millions of users daily without any kind of surge delays. Now there is a reason why such a huge media sharing platform uses the cloud as well.
Spotify
Like Netflix shares web series, films, movies, and visual media. Spotify is used for music streaming. Many great and major music artists upload their music on this platform, and again it also relies on cloud services for providing scalable servers to handle the peak of listeners and artists storing and presenting their music globally.
Instagram also relies on cloud services to store and present a huge amount of photos and videos globally without any surge delays.
Conclusion
Hi, I am Abdullah Zahid. Previously, I explained Virtual Machines and containers. I am glad to say that we have concluded this series (for now). With this article on Cloud Computing. But I assure you there will be more very detailed articles next time about the basics of cloud computing.