Cloud computing is emerging with great demand!

Large Companies, startups, and even individuals are switching to the cloud and carrying out most of their activities in the cloud.

Companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS) provide cloud computing platforms and major services for individuals, companies, and even the government. These services are on-demand and affordable.

This piece explains the concept of cloud computing in simple ways. By the end, you should understand cloud computing and decide whether to embrace it.

Let's get started!!!

Concept of Cloud Computing?

Companies, startups, and even individuals spend a lot of money to set up data centers. Before setting up a data center, they consider the amount of power they need, the servers, storage, etc., the order for servers, and different materials. These technology services are useless when there is no work to do, and they end up becoming redundant. Cloud computing solves these problems.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud Computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet with PAY-AS-YOU-GO pricing.

IT resources: compute, storage, database, and network, which companies need to set up data centers, cause them too much stress. These resources become useless when they don't. On the other hand, Cloud Computing provides these technology services exactly when you need them—on-demand—with pay-as-you-go pricing, i.e., you only pay for what you need anymore.

In other words,

Cloud Computing is a remote virtual pool of on-demand shared resources offering compute, storage, database, and network services that can be rapidly deployed at scale.

Companies like AWS have large data centers offering IT resources for others to benefit from. Providing it for them exactly when they need it while they pay only for what they use. But this is impossible without Virtualization.

When multiple virtual machines (VMs)—each running essentially a separate operating system and applications—are installed on one physical server and perform their tasks uninterruptedly, we call this Virtualization.

Vendors like AWS refer to these VMs as intances. They make it available to be bought and used while they set up their various configurations.

Suppose you need to use a large amount of storage without setting up a data center; all you have to do is order the Amazon S3(simple storage service) and put it to good use.

This is how it works:

You buy the instance(VM) for storage from vendor e.g AWS. Once you launch this instance, it got installed on the vendor's Large physical hardware in their data center. When you make a request to use a certain amount of storage, the request goes via the Hypervisor which handles the request.

A Hypervisor is software used to create a virtualized environment, allowing multiple VMs to be installed on the same host.

The Hypervisor sits between the VMs and the physical hardware and creates a shared pool of virtual hardware for each to access.

The Hypervisor reaches out to AWS Physical Hardware to provide you the amount of storage you requested for. Every VM installed on the hardware sees the hardware, but they don't see each other. The hypervisor ensures the hardware resources are shared between all the VMs as needed and as configured.

Everyone using the cloud gets what they want exactly when needed, paying only for what they use.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

As an IT person, you would surely be curious about the reason why you need to adopt cloud computing. Below are various benefits that would convince you to adopt cloud computing:

• High security - Every developer, company and enterprise is always concerned about their data. Cybercrimes are increasing, with hackers breaching into many companies' storage, accessing their data and using it for crime purposes. This has put many companies in a devastating state, reducing revenue due to customer trust loss.

Cloud storage is the most secure because it offers a great security. Many features and configurations allows only the architect to have access to company's data and can only give access to any qualified employee. This has improved security greatly and reduced data breaches.

• Adoption of Variable expense - variable expense means you only pay for what you use. The traditional approach to accessing IT resources is the upfront expense, where they have to invest in data centers and physical servers before knowing how to use them.

Adopting the variable expense that cloud computing offers will give entrepreneurs a chance to invent innovative services while saving cost and time.

• Stop guessing capacity - Cloud computing makes it possible to use resources exactly when you need them. Instead of predicting how much infrastructure you need before deploying application, all you have to do is just launch an instance. You only pay for what you use.

• Speed and Agility— Cloud computing makes it easy to access the resources you need within minutes. Applications are deployed faster, unlike in data centers, where you have to wait for weeks before having access to resources, which delays work and makes you less productive.

• Go global in minutes - AWS Global infrastructure makes it possible for you to go global in minutes. Your customers can have access to your applications within minutes.

WIN-WIN for everyone 😍.

Cloud Computing Models

There are three main models cloud computing offers. Individuals or companies can choose between these models based on their product requirements. The models are:

1. INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE (IAAS) : IAAS contains the basic building blocks for the cloud IT and typically provides access to networking features, computers (virtual or on dedicated hardware), and data storage space.
   IAAS provides you with highest level of flexibility and management control over your IT resources and is the similar to existing IT resources that many IT departments and developers are familiar with today.

2. PLATFORM AS A SeRVICE (PAAS) : PAAS removes the need for your organization to manage the underlying infrastructure (usually hardware and operating systems) and allows you to focus on the deployment and management of your management of your applications.
   
   This helps you be more efficient as you don't need to worry about resource procurement, capacity planning, software maintenance, patching, or any of the other undifferentiated heavy lifting involved in running your application.

3. SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE(SAAS) : SAAS provides you with a completed product that is run and managed by the service provider. In most cases, people referring to SAAS are referring to end-user applications.

With SAAS offering, you do not have to think about how the service is maintained or how the underlying infrastructure is managed; you only need to think about how you will use that particular piece of software.

Deployment Models

We are all familiar with traditional deployment. Applications are deployed using on-premises resources, which are not easy to set up.

With cloud computing, we have three options of using IT resources when deploying applications. Applications are deployed faster with less stress and less budget, you only pay for what you use. The models are explained below:

• ClOUD : Applications can be created in the cloud or can be migrated from an existing infrastructure to take full advantage of the cloud. A cloud-based application is fully deployed in the cloud and all the parts of the application run in the cloud.

Cloud-based applications can be built on a low-level infrastructure pieces or can use higher level services that provide abstraction from the management, architecting, and scaling requirements of core infrastructure.

This gives birth to Public Cloud.

A Public Cloud is where a vendor e.g AWS makes available the use of shared infrastructure which includes all IT resources: compute, storage, database and network services. These resources can be accessed over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing.

• ON-PREMISES : The use of private cloud -deployment of resources using virtualization and resource management tools- to deploy and manage applications is one of the deployment models cloud computing.

A private cloud is privately hosted, managed and owned by individuals using it. This gives improved and more direct control of the company's data. The hardware is held on-premises

• HYBRID : A hybrid cloud makes use of both the public cloud and the private cloud. A connection of infrastructure and applications between cloud-based resources and existing resources that are not located in the cloud is established. This is often used to extend, and grow an organization's infrastructure into the cloud while connecting cloud resources to the internal systems.

The Cloud is the easiest to use as it offers on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet while you only pay for what you use.

Embrace The Cloud NOW!

The cloud represents both the present and the future of technology. As cloud computing continues to evolve, traditional data centers will gradually become a thing of the past. The benefits of migrating to the cloud are too significant to ignore, from cost savings and scalability to enhanced security and flexibility.

By embracing the cloud now, you position yourself or your organization to stay ahead of the technological curve. Cloud computing allows for seamless scaling, meaning you can grow your infrastructure in line with your needs without significant upfront investments. Enhanced security measures provided by cloud vendors protect your data against breaches and losses, offering peace of mind in an increasingly digital world.

Don’t wait for others to outpace you. The time to migrate to the cloud is now. Take advantage of the comprehensive services offered by cloud providers like AWS and unlock the full potential of your business. Embrace the cloud and witness firsthand how it can revolutionize your operations and drive your success.

MIGRATE NOW!