Cloud computing explained
As a growing business, you may be considering solutions to fulfil your increasing requirements. With a larger team, the necessity to view data in real-time and collaborate on projects across different locations becomes even more important, and you need the software and infrastructure to support this.
Offering innovation and flexible resources, cloud computing can deliver all the resources needed to help you run your infrastructure more efficiently, including:
- Storage
- Databases
- Software
- Servers.
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Migrating your infrastructure to the cloud will also improve the way your business manages data and optimises business intelligence and analytics.
The key component of cloud computing is that it is delivered over the internet, helping to lower operating costs by eliminating the need for hardware, software and on-site data centres. Among the other benefits of cloud computing are its reliability, speed, security and global scale.
Public vs. private cloud
There are three types of cloud computing architecture used to implement cloud services: public, private and hybrid.
- A public cloud delivers services via a third-party cloud service provider who also owns and manages all hardware, software and supporting infrastructure
- A private cloud is used exclusively by a single organisation, so the services and infrastructure are maintained on a private network
- A hybrid cloud is a combination of public and private architecture.
Types of cloud services
Cloud services are delivered in three ways.
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) in cloud computing allows you to rent IT infrastructure from a cloud provider on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Software as a service (SaaS) typically delivers software applications on an on-demand subscription basis. The cloud provider will host and manage the software and its underlying infrastructure, and they are responsible for any maintenance.
Platform as a Service (PaaS) in cloud computing refers to cloud computing services that are designed to allow developers to easily create apps without the need to set up or manage the underlying infrastructure. By using an on-demand service for developing and managing software applications, PaaS users can generate results quickly.
Cloud service providers
The three main cloud computing service providers are Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform.
90% of Fortune 500 companies opt for cloud computing with Azure, providing access to over 200 products and services designed for hybrid cloud that allow users to manage their environments on-premises and across multiple clouds. Azure’s solutions include IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS for a comprehensive selection of services such as virtual computing, networking and analytics.
Azure is backed by Microsoft’s continuous innovation and expert security team, with the advantage of a commitment to open source software for additional building and deployment options. Azure cloud computing also provides any related products and services you might require for your business challenges, to provide complementary, scalable solutions.
Combining IaaS, PaaS and SaaS solutions, Amazon Web Services, also known as AWS cloud computing offers more than 200 fully-featured services, compiled from leading infrastructure technologies. This allows AWS to use emerging technologies such as AI, data lakes and machine learning.
AWS also boasts the widest offering of purpose-built databases for a variety of applications, so that you can choose the right tool for your business needs. As the provider with the most extensive global cloud infrastructure, AWS operates across most regions globally with multiple availability zones. Cloud computing with AWS is also backed by an array of 230 security, compliance, and governance features and services.
As a collection of cloud services provided by Google, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) enables users to manage infrastructure and develop apps. GCP can also be used to store and analyse data.
Cloud computing with GCP has the added bonus of offering the web admin user interface Google Console so that users can manage their applications alongside Google Cloud CLI and client libraries through IaaS, PaaS and SaaS cloud solutions. GCP cloud computing services include computing, networking, big data and artificial intelligence.
Dufrain’s cloud data engineers are here to help
Though cloud services are designed for straightforward implementation, adopting these solutions into your operations can be challenging. Using industry-leading technologies, Dufrain’s Cloud Data Engineers can make the move to the cloud considerably less daunting by offering advice on how to minimise risk and make informed decisions about which services best accommodate your needs.
If you’d like further guidance on implementing a cloud computing service in your organisation, contact Dufrain to learn more from our market-leading cloud data consultant team.
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