[Assignment Series : 121] [Assignment Code : 2025OD166]

CHARACTERISTICS AND BENEFITS OF CLOUD

COMPUTING

ASSIGNMENT SERIES 121

DEPARTMENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DATA SCIENCE

NAME: GOKULNATH G ROLL NO: 7376222AD137

1. Introduction
ZDNet defines "cloud computing" as "the delivery of on-demand computing services,
usually over the internet and on a pay-as-you-go basis, ranging from applications to
storage and processing power."

To put it simply, the internet is referred to as the cloud. Businesses are said to be
functioning in the cloud when they store data in
virtual data centers or use an internet connection
to access programs rather than depending on the
hard drive or on-premises IT infrastructure of
their devices.

A serverless workload that is endlessly scalable

and geo-redundant can be as basic as "servers in
a third-party data center" or as complex as
whole serverless workloads. Cloud services and
servers are elastic and scalable.

2. How does cloud computing work

The internet is used to supply computer resources, such data centers and IT infrastructure,
in the form of cloud computing. Instead of developing and managing their own IT
infrastructure or data center, this approach enables organizations to rent storage space or
access software from a cloud service provider. Businesses that utilize cloud computing
services pay only for the resources they use, which is a big advantage.

Cloud computing operations may be broken down into frontend and backend components
for a better understanding of its technological characteristics. Via an internet browser or a
cloud computing app, users may access data and applications kept in the cloud thanks to

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the frontend component. The servers, PCs, and databases that house the data make up the
backend.

3. History of Cloud Computing

Technology Review claims that an internal Compaq paper from 1996 has the first usage
of the term "cloud computing."

In 1999, Salesforce became the first business to distribute enterprise software via the
internet, marking a significant milestone for cloud computing. Additionally, this marked
the start of software-as-a-service (SaaS).

The introduction of Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2002 marked yet another important
advancement in cloud computing. Its cloud-based services featured human intelligence,
processing, and storage. Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), which was introduced by
Amazon in 2006, enables both people and enterprises to rent virtual machines and run
their own software.

2009 saw the release of browser-based

corporate apps by Google Workspace
(now Google Workspace), marking yet
another significant turning point in the
history of cloud computing. Microsoft
Azure marked the company's foray into
the cloud computing space the same year,
and shortly after, businesses like Oracle
and HP did the same.

4. Examples of Cloud Computing

Everything from virtual computers to databases to whole serverless apps is included in
cloud computing. Here are a few instances of cloud computing:

● Salesforce: Customer relationship management (CRM) is the area of expertise for

SaaS vendor Salesforce.com. The business enables people to work remotely and
offers enterprise apps to assist synchronize marketing, sales, customer service,
etc.

● DigitialOcean: Software developers may get Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

from DigitalOcean, a firm located in New York. Companies may expand and

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deploy apps that operate concurrently across several cloud servers by using
DigitalOcean.

● Microsoft Azure: Microsoft Azure is an excellent illustration of a

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that facilitates every stage of the development
lifecycle of an application, from conception to implementation and beyond. Azure
gives developers access to a wide range of tools, languages, and frameworks.

● Dropbox: Dropbox is a file-hosting service that runs in the cloud that lets users
save and sync files to their devices for anytime, anywhere access. It also makes it
possible for users to collaborate effectively by sharing big files—such as movies
and photos—over the internet.

5. Importance of Cloud Computing

Companies had to download programs or apps to run them on their own PCs or
on-premises servers prior to the advent of cloud computing. Building and running its own
data centers or IT infrastructure is a tremendous undertaking for any corporation. It is
difficult to allocate a big number of IT administrators and resources, even for those who
operate their own data centers.

In the history of the technology industry, the advent of cloud computing and
virtualization marked a paradigm change. Cloud computing enables organizations to rent
computing resources from cloud service providers instead of building and maintaining
their own IT infrastructure and paying for servers, electricity, real estate, etc. This saves
them from having to deal with the hassles of operating their own data centers and high
upfront expenditures. Businesses only pay for the processing power and disk space they
really need when they rent cloud services. This makes it possible for businesses to more
accurately predict expenses.

Cloud service providers save organizations a great deal of time, money, and effort since
they handle the strenuous management and upkeep of the IT infrastructure. Additionally,
businesses may easily scale up or down their computer infrastructure with the help of the
cloud. In contrast to the conventional on-premises data center architecture, cloud
computing provides convenient data access on any internet-connected device and from
any location, facilitating productive collaboration.

6. Uses of cloud computing

All types of organizations, including startups, huge
enterprises, and government agencies, use cloud
computing to access technological services that increase

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productivity, communication, workflow efficiency, and service delivery, among other

things. Some of the most popular applications for cloud computing are listed below.

● Storage: File storage is among the most popular applications of cloud computing. Cloud
storage allows organizations to easily access data from anywhere on any device with an
internet connection, even if there are many other ways to store and access data, including
USB drives, external hard drives, and PC hard drives. Cloud storage services, such as
DropBox, OneDrive, and Amazon S3, provide enterprises secure data access and the
ability to scale up or down storage capacity according to their needs.

● Database: Another well-liked corporate use case is cloud databases. "A database service
built and accessed through a cloud platform" is how IBM describes a cloud database. The
majority of the features of a standard database are also provided by a cloud database,
along with further advantages like flexibility, cost savings, failover support, specialist
knowledge, and more.
● Web apps: In today's corporate environment, web apps are an essential tool. Web-based
apps, which provide instantaneous remote access to information, are accessible to
anybody with a web browser and are powered by cloud technology. This makes it
possible for business professionals to interact with clients, provide them the information
they need, and work together with other experts from any location.
● Collaboration: Cloud-based platforms, like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, have
become the go-to option for companies wishing to work both internally between
departments and externally with clients due to its simple accessibility, integration,
flexibility, security, and ease of use. Strong business technologies like Teams, Microsoft
Word, Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, and Google Docs are made to improve productivity and
teamwork.
● SaaS programs: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) programs, like Salesforce, let companies
easily manage clients and automate marketing in addition to storing, organizing, and
maintaining data. SaaS solutions don't need hardware or software administration and are
very useful.