Introduction
According to Microsoft: “… Simply put, cloud computing is the delivery of
computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software,
analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster
innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. You typically pay only
for cloud services you use, helping you lower your operating costs, run your
infrastructure more efficiently, and scale as your business needs change …”
Now, when it comes to getting information from the web, there can be a lot of
confusion because it depends on whose opinion you seek. With technical stuff,
even industry experts usually have divergent opinions. That is why it can be so
hard to understand terminologies relating to cloud computing … for example, the
different deployments types (Public, Private, Hybrid) and cloud models (IaaS, PaaS,
SaaS, etc) can really get frustrating to understand.
Deployment types of Cloud Computing
Before getting to Cloud models, let’s make a soft landing with Cloud deployment
types.
1. Public Cloud: Here, the provider of
cloud computing enables users to access the shared infrastructure via an online
service. Users are not responsible for providing
servers, infrastructure, and bandwidth – this is entirely the responsibility of the
provider.
Users pay only for used features and can change their subscription plans at any given moment. Public cloud computing services are easy to use and navigate; they are highly scalable and accessible.
2. Private Cloud: A private cloud is
created and managed by the user for secure data storage and management. It is
used exclusively by one user. The user may install on-premise or outsource a
provider for remote service. User is fully responsible for maintenance. On-premise is a private cloud if it is connected to the internet.
Here, the company doesn’t need to give data away to a third-party provider. An in-house team can manage the data centers. The key advantage is security of confidential data, but it is expensive to set up (just like on-premise anyway).
3. Hybrid Cloud: This is a mix of
private and public deployments. You can use public cloud to store data for
everyday operations, high-volume tasks like software development or
maintenance. Then a private cloud for confidential data and backups. This is very common.
Companies can benefit from the expertise of the third-party provider while
still keeping control over crucial data. However, the business still needs to
invest in in-house infrastructure, since private cloud has to be supported with
local resources.
Models of Cloud Computing (Iaas, PaaS, SaaS)
There is a very easy way to understand the three cloud models. You approach it
from a completely on-premise angle (where you have nothing to do with the
cloud), and then you move upwards towards the cloud.
On-premise: Here all the following three
aspects are managed locally on-premise:
i) Infrastructure (servers/hardware/virtualization, networking, security, storage,
datacentre building)
ii) Platform (platform for operating system, development tools)
iii) Software (application, data)
Beyond on-premise, we are in the cloud. The only variation is what is managed
by the provides vs what is managed by us.
1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):
Moving one step up from on-premise takes us to Infrastructure as a Service
(IaaS), where the provider manages the infrastructure, leaving us to manage the
Platform and Software. We rent the
infrastructure from a cloud provider and pay on a pay-as-you-go basis. E.g. Microsoft Azure, which provides services for software development, administration, and deployment, and tools for working with innovative technologies (big data, machine learning, Internet of Things), etc. Azure may be considered as IaaS, PaaS and SaaS at the same time.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS): Moving
one more step up takes us to Platform as a Service (PaaS), where the provider
manages the infrastructure and Platform, leaving us to manage the Software. We rent the infrastructure and platform from
a cloud provider and pay on a pay-as-you-go basis. E.g. AWS Elastic Beanstalk: a web platform for software deployment and management, powered by the AWS Cloud. Users upload their applications to the service.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS): Moving
one more step up takes us to Software as a Service (SaaS), where the provider
manages the infrastructure, Platform and Software, leaving us to manage nothing.
We just use everything. We rent the
infrastructure, platform and software from a cloud provider and pay on a
pay-as-you-go basis. E.g. Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, Google’s G Suite.
I believe that the above approach to understanding the Cloud models makes more
natural sense, and hopefully clears the confusion that comes with the web.
Benefits of Cloud Computing
Lastly, see the benefits in the info-graphics below (courtesy of Microsoft):
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