Cloud Computing.. Everything You Need to Know

 

If you haven't lived in a cave in the last few years, you've certainly heard of cloud computing. But do you know what cloud computing really means?
 
Nowadays, it is increasingly possible to find tools that use this technology, be it for storing data or for providing services and functions.
 

If you still don't fully understand cloud computing or want to know more about it, this article will teach you everything you need to know. Read on!

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a technology that allows you to access content and perform tasks on the Internet without installing an application on a computer or mobile device.

 

Data is stored and accessed online. This means that you simply connect the device online to use all the features and tools available.

 

All information and files are stored on the Internet (in the cloud). That way, you or any other person can access it anytime, anywhere, without having to download and install anything. All you need is an internet connection.

Without realizing it, you come across services that use cloud computing technology daily. If you've ever created a document in Google Docs, watched a video on YouTube, or listened to music on Spotify, you've been using the cloud.

You don't need to download or install anything to use these online services (except for smartphone apps, but that's another story). All you need is a browser and an internet connection to access all the features.

How Cloud Computing really Works?

The cloud computing access mechanism is "possible" and can be triggered in a variety of ways - from standard LAN or intranet access with several agents or client applications to extranet and internet access via a browser connected to the application portal from a computing service provider. cloud. The application protocols used may also vary, but this is not very significant when viewed on the end-user side, where the end-user is sufficient to know how to access and use the services contained in cloud computing.

Some Examples of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is actually nothing new, we've used the concept properly, but it hasn't evolved so far. Below is an example of how to use the online computing backbone concept:

• A web portal that has a variety of general maintenance services (applications), from electronic mail (e-mail), discussion forums) to document storage with very wide data carriers to the document sharing mechanism (such as 4shared, indowebster, mediafire, etc.), blogs, etc. They are all delivered in one place.
• Software as a service or SaaS services from various leading information technology providers - from online virus scanning services to spam scanning services, etc.
• an article in this IT journal can simply say that it is a cloud computing service that you can access and use simultaneously.
• Point-of-sale or POS applications at supermarket checkouts using a terminal service can also be counted among the basics of cloud computing.

Cloud computing can evolve in terms of "ease of use" where end-users have "relatively" ease with LAN or internet media via a browser to access and collaborate simultaneously without going through a "fairly" complex process.

Types Of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has two slightly different meanings. The most well-known one identifies with running responsibilities distantly over the web in a business seller's datacenter and is otherwise called a public cloud. Famous public cloud contributions, for example, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce CRM, and Microsoft Azure are instances of this notable comprehension of distributed computing. Today, most organizations utilize a multi-cloud framework, which implies they utilize more than one public cloud administration.

The second importance of distributed computing depicts how it functions: a virtualized pool of assets - from unadulterated figuring capacity to application usefulness - accessible on request. At the point when clients request cloud benefits, the supplier satisfies those solicitations utilizing progressed robotization instead of manual provisioning. Readiness is the key advantage: the capacity to allot dynamic processing, stockpiling, and systems administration assets to your responsibilities on a case by case basis, and utilize plenty of pre-designed administrations.

Public Cloud

The public cloud permits clients to acquire new freedoms without putting resources into new equipment or programming. All things considered, they pay their cloud supplier a membership charge or just compensation for the assets they use. By basically finishing up web structures, clients can make records and run virtual machines or convey new applications. More clients or registering assets can be added on the fly - the last progressively as responsibilities request additional processing assets on account of an element known as autoscaling. 

SaaS (software as a service) 

It is a kind of open cloud that gives applications over the web to use in a program. The most well-known SaaS applications for business can be found in Google G Suite and Microsoft Office 365. Salesforce is the pioneer among corporate applications. All endeavor applications, including ERP suites from Oracle and SAP, have embraced the SaaS model.

Typically, SaaS applications have extensive configuration options as well as development environments that allow customers to create their own modifications and add-ons. 

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) 

At the entry-level, public IaaS cloud providers offer charge-per-usage storage and computing. However, the full range of services offered by all major public cloud providers is stunning: highly scalable databases, virtual private networks, Big Data analytics, development tools, machine learning, application monitoring, and so on. Amazon Web Services was the first IaaS provider and remains a leader, followed by Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and IBM Cloud.

PaaS (Platform as a Service)

It provides a set of services and workflows for developers to use common tools, processes, and APIs to accelerate application development, testing, and deployment. Salesforce Heroku and Force.com are popular public cloud PaaS offerings; Cloud Foundry by Pivotal and OpenShift by Red Hat can be deployed locally or accessed through major public clouds. For enterprises, PaaS can ensure that developers can access resources, operate in specific processes, and use only a specific range of services, while operators maintain the infrastructure behind the platform.

FaaS (functions as a service) 

FaaS or serverless computing in the cloud version, adds another layer of abstraction to PaaS, keeping developers completely isolated from everything in the stack under their code. Instead of playing around with virtual servers, containers, and application runtime environments, they throw in blocks of code with narrow functionality and set them to be triggered by a specific event (e.g., submission of a form or file). All major clouds offer FaaS based on IaaS: AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, Google Cloud Functions, and IBM OpenWhisk. A particular advantage of FaaS applications is that they do not consume IaaS resources until an event occurs, which reduces the cost peruse.

Private Cloud 

    reduces the technologies used in public IaaS clouds to software that can be deployed and operated in the customer's data center. As with the public cloud, internal customers can share their own virtual resources to build, test, and run applications, using metering to charge departments for resource consumption. For administrators, the private cloud represents the highest level of data center automation, minimizing manual provisioning and management. Software-Defined Data Center by VMware is the most popular commercial private cloud software while OpenStack is the leader in open source.

 

However, it should be remembered that private cloud does not fully comply with the definition of cloud computing. Cloud computing is a service, while private cloud requires an organization to build and maintain its own cloud infrastructure; only internal private cloud users perceive it as a cloud computing service.

Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud is the integration of a private cloud with a public cloud. The most developed hybrid cloud consists in creating parallel environments in which applications can easily move between private and public clouds. In other cases, databases may remain in the customer's data center and integrate with public cloud applications, or virtualized data center workloads may be replicated to the cloud during peak demand periods. The types of private and public cloud integration vary greatly but must be extensive to be called a hybrid cloud.

Public API

Just as SaaS delivers applications to users over the internet, public application programming interfaces offer developers application functionality that can be accessed programmatically. For example, when building web applications, developers often use the Google Maps API to provide directions to a destination; Developers get integration with social media thanks to APIs offered by Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Twilio has created a successful venture to deliver telephony and messaging services through a public API. Each company can provide its own public API to allow customers to use data or access application features.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

The principal objective of the cloud is to decrease the opportunity to market utilizations that require dynamic scaling. Progressively, in any case, engineers are attracted to the cloud by the bounty of cutting-edge new administrations that can be joined into applications - from AI to the web of things network. 

While organizations now and again move old applications to the cloud to lessen server farm asset necessities, the genuine advantages come from new applications that exploit cloud administrations and the properties of the cloud-local model. The last incorporate microservices engineering, Linux holders to expand application transportability, and compartment the board arrangements like Kubernetes that order compartment-based administrations. Cloud-local methodologies and arrangements can be important for public or private mists and help accomplish an exceptionally effective DevOps-style work process. 

Distributed computing, public or private, has turned into the foundation of decision for enormous applications, particularly those whose clients are clients and which should habitually change or scale progressively. All the more significantly, significant public mists are right now at the bleeding edge of big business innovation headway, bringing new improvements before they show up elsewhere. Responsibility by responsibility, ventures pick the cloud where an interminable procession of invigorating new advancements energizes creative use.

Security of Cloud Computing

Much has been said about the benefits of the cloud. However, one of the problems when deciding to move to the cloud is the security aspect. Managers are not quite able to assess whether cloud computing is safe for companies. The answer to the question of whether the cloud is safe is - yes, but we must approach it properly.

After assessing the economic, legal, and technological aspects, it is also necessary to understand the risks related to the security and resilience of the operation of the cloud. Of course, the key element is the choice of the service model, which significantly determines the types of threats and the resulting risks (as well as costs).

 

Cloud Service Models

We have the potentially highest level of control in the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model - where we supervise our systems at the administrative level. In this model, the provider provides network services, computer resources (virtual or hardware), and space for data collection. This model is close to the traditional on-premise model from the point of view of control. In the Platform as a Service (PaaS) model, we are relieved of the obligations of maintaining supporting operating systems (e.g. updating, maintenance, resources), which allows us to focus on the development and management of applications. On the other hand, in the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, we have the least impact - the application and supporting infrastructure are managed and maintained on the provider's side, and the service is made available via the Internet to the end-user, e.g. via a web browser.

Cloud Implementation Models

The second important component is the way the cloud is implemented. It can be implemented in 3 variants. Public cloud (completely organized in cloud resources), hybrid cloud (combining elements of cloud systems and those located in the organization's infrastructure), or private cloud (where resources are located in the organization's infrastructure using virtualization technology). For example, the hybrid variant may provide a phased development of the infrastructure in the cloud, which allows for greater comfort.

 

The above decisions and related activities should result from the cloud transformation strategy (specific directions, goals, priorities, initiatives in this area) related to the organization's business strategy. Transfer to the cloud may take place in stages, depending on the business profile of the organization, e.g. taking into account the migration of one specific system in the first step. We should also remember that our organization's data may have already entered the cloud in cooperation with external partners, suppliers who have decided to transfer their business to cloud computing.

Proven Security Methods

In fact, the approach to the cloud does not differ significantly from the approach to the security of the organization. You just have to take into account the specifics of this service. You can easily try to approach the topic of cloud security by asking the basic questions to potential cloud providers regarding the processing of our data - their storage and transmission. It is also important to understand to what extent our organization uses cloud services today. Sometimes we do not realize that in practice we can already use the cloud (eg Salesforce, Cloud ERP SAP, Office 365). Some of our business operations may already be moved to the cloud, by the decision of individual business owners - which should be taken into account in the strategy of a given organization.

The basic approach to security may differ depending on the organization's risk profile as well as the type of cloud. We can do it efficiently if we manage cybersecurity risks from the very beginning of the migration project. It is also important whether we can use the current capabilities of the organization, available technological tools, or whether we need new tools dedicated to working in the cloud. For example, the use of network infrastructure monitoring services for security in the managed service model should be successfully migrated to the cloud environment. An interesting solution is also the so-called Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) - a class of products (tools and services) that mediate between an organization and a cloud provider to manage risks related to data protection, user privacy, and security monitoring in the cloud.