What Is The Cloud?

Often referred to as simply ‘the cloud’, cloud computing is the delivery of on-demand computing resources – from data centres to applications – over the internet on a pay-for-use basis. Essentially, it’s renting instead of buying your I.T.!

When a company chooses to ‘move to the cloud’, it means their IT infrastructure will be stored offsite at a data centre that’s maintained by a cloud computing provider. The provider has the responsibility of managing not just their client’s infrastructure, but their integrating applications and for developing new functionality and capabilities to keep pace with the market’s demands.

Cloud Computing Benefits

Cloud computing offers more scale, agility and flexibility for clients. Rather than investing in software, databases, equipment and resources, clients can harness their computer power via the internet. They also only pay for it when they use it, which allows them to respond quickly to a more complex and fast-paced business landscape. 

Cloud customers also automatically have access to emerging technologies and the latest innovations as their cloud provider takes on the role of developing new features and capabilities. It also allows clients to have IT security maintained for them by their cloud provider including regulatory requirements and potential threats.

Types of Cloud Computing

There are three basic types of clouds – public, private, and hybrid. All of them vary in terms of the amount of management that’s required and the level of security that is provided. 

Public Cloud

In a public cloud infrastructure, the whole computing infrastructure is located on the premises of the cloud provider, and services are delivered to the client via the internet. The client doesn’t need to purchase software, hardware or supporting infrastructure as it is owned by the provider, and they can add more users or computing power as they need. 

Private Cloud

A private cloud infrastructure is operated solely for a single organisation, and managed internally at the organisation’s location or by the cloud provider’s data centre. It provides the highest level of security and control and can be hosted either internally or externally. Private clouds take advantage of a cloud’s efficiencies, avoid multi-tenancy and provide more control over resources.

Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud uses the basic elements of a private cloud combined with the strategic integration and use of public cloud services. Generally the client will host their business-critical applications on their own servers (which allows for more security and control), while their secondary applications will be stored at their cloud provider’s location.

Types of Cloud Services

Cloud services generally fall under three categories – Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). 

Software as a Service 

This is a delivery model in which the provider hosts the client’s applications at their location, which the client accesses via the internet. This type of service enables organisations to get up and running quickly with the most innovative technology available. Clients can then dynamically scale services and add more features or services as they grow. Apps and data are also accessible from any connected computer and no data is lost if computers break down as the data is in the cloud! 

Platform as a Service 

This service provides clients with a cloud-based environment with everything they need to support the complete lifecycle of building and delivering web-based applications – without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying infrastructure. The provider hosts the infrastructure and many of the middleware components and the customer accesses those services via a web browser.

Infrastructure as a Service 

This cloud-based model enables clients to access infrastructure services on a pay-per-use basis via the internet including servers, storage, networking and data centre space. Benefits include flexible, innovative services that can be scaled on demand to support dynamic workloads without the cost of the client having to invest in their own hardware.

Complete Cloud Solutions

Here at Deployus, our cloud infrastructure hosting environments allow you to connect from anywhere, at any time through almost any device including tablets, PC’s, laptops and smart phones. We also offer an array of professional IT support services including a 24-hour helpdesk, and maintenance and monitoring programs that ensure continual peak network performance. 

Keen to improve your organisation’s productivity, connectivity and bottom line? Ask us about our cloud infrastructure services today – and advance your business into the 21st century!