Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, data storage, development tools, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. The resources are hosted at a remote data center managed by a cloud service provider (CSP) and are accessible as services over the network. It eliminates the need for companies to procure, configure, or manage resources themselves, and they only pay for what they use.

The Cloud Stack

An end-to-end cloud application may utilize a large variety of cloud services and technologies. Cloud applications can be built with different architectures, but in general they can be divided into the following tiers:

Client side - applications that run on various devices and connect to the cloud.
Networking - access to cloud and communication with and between services.
Compute - the infrastructure and platforms that enable the execution of cloud services.
Data storage - the ability to store, manage, organize, query and retrieve persistent data.