Cloud Technologies: What They Are and How They Benefit People and Business

Cloud has entirely changed the principle of storing and transmitting information. Its technologies have made it possible to overcome the obstacles of physical space and opened up a new dimension of the internet.

What cloud technologies are

Cloud technologies are the means of providing computing processing power as a network-based service.

The user gets a platform, also known as a cloud, where they can do anything: from storing photos to building one’s own infrastructure. It is basically a server located in data centers all over the world, accessed through the web. There is no need for the user to attune it on their own, it is a job for the service provider.

Where are the cloud technologies involved? In every service that we got used to. Earlier, all the information was stored in a computer and transferred via a flash drive (or a disk). Soon, the file storage appeared, Dropbox, Google One, Microsoft Office 365. Messaging switched to Telegram, WhatsApp, and the work meetings or private communication went into Zoom, Skype etc. Thanks to the cloud technologies, you can open the very same file on various devices at the same time. Or log into your social media page from the new phone.

How it works

Cloud computing was made possible through virtualization. It supports the creation of a digitally modelled virtual computer, similar to the real-world one, with its own software. It is called a virtual machine (VM).

One physical server can simultaneously launch several virtual ones. Data center becomes like a web of data processing centers able to handle many users. VMs are isolated from one another, files and apps of one virtual machine are not visible to others, even when they are located in one physical server. Users get online access to the services via a browser or an app.

The history of how cloud technologies emerged

In the 1950s, mainframes were first used. They were expensive, and a common scientist was unable to reach them. So the companies have come up with a concept of time distribution to use the processing time of the mainframes efficiently. It allowed users to get access to numerous instances of the computer mainframe all at once in order to maximize the computing power and minimize the downtime. This technology is the first example of the common use of processing resources and is now the basis for the cloud computing.

Cloud technologies have gained momentum ever since the first virtual machines appeared in the 70s. It enabled users to launch several processing systems on one physical machine. In the 70s-80s, the leading technological companies, such as Microsoft, Apple, and IBM, have advanced the cloud spaces and fostered the use of cloud hosting.

In 1999, Salesforce has become the first company to give access to its software through the web. Companies could buy and use apps without leaving the office.

In 2006, Amazon has launched AWS to give cloud computing and data storage services. Ever since, the other IT giants, including Microsoft and Google, have rolled out their cloud solutions to compete with AWS.

The main cloud technologies service models

• SaaS (Software as a Service). A cloud provider deploys and administers the apps, hosts them in the cloud and provides via a browser or a PC software. A user submits a subscription fee or uses them for free. It works similar to the house rental: a landlord maintains the house, while a tenant uses it as if an owner. Examples are Microsoft 365, TikTok, Gmail.

• PaaS (Platform as a Service). A provider gives everything necessary to create IT services: development tools, infrastructure and operating systems. PaaS could be compared to renting out all materials required for house building instead of renting a ready-built one. Examples — AWS Elastic Beanstalk, OpenShift.

• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). A provider gives resources and storage for the company to host and deploy services. It’s similar to renting land where the company could build everything it wants, but also has to supply oneself with its own building materials. The providers include — Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, GigaCloud.

You can read more on these models and examples in a separate article — SaaS, PaaS, IaaS.

Types of cloud deployment

• Public cloud. A public cloud is owned by a provider that manages it. Many companies can rent out its resources.

• Private cloud. A private cloud is built by a provider specifically to be used by a single organization alone.

• Hybrid cloud. The combination of public and private clouds, which helps companies to use the best possibilities of both solutions depending on the task.

Advantages of cloud technologies

The future of cloud technologies

Here are some prospects:

• Hybrid and multicloud solutions. The business will choose a combination of hybrid and multicloud infrastructures, as it will strive to strike a balance between flexibility, safety, and control.
• Internet of Things. As more and more devices get connected to the internet, the demand for a reliable, scalable cloud infrastructure will keep on growing. IoT will generate a large amount of data to store and process, and the cloud is an ideal platform therefor.
• Artificial intelligence. With a lightning-fast AI development, business and users more often than not turn to cloud technologies to store and manage their data. One of the main reasons is that AI-based data analytics could help find patterns and trends, which would otherwise be impossible to detect.
• Serverless computing. This trend could radically transform the idea about the apps and services hosting. In a serverless model, there are no physical servers to manage.

Previously, we also described what cloud services are and how they assist in business.