# Cloud Computing Introduction ## What is Cloud Computing Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence over the internet to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. Instead of owning and maintaining physical data centers and servers, organizations can access technology services on an as-needed basis from a cloud provider. The cloud provider manages the underlying infrastructure. Users pay only for the services they use. ## History of Cloud Computing The concept of cloud computing developed from earlier ideas of utility computing in the 1960s where computing power would be delivered like electricity. The modern cloud computing era began in the early 2000s. Amazon Web Services launched in 2006, offering storage and compute services to the public. Google Apps launched in 2006 and Microsoft Azure launched in 2010. The rapid growth of cloud computing has transformed the IT industry. ## Types of Cloud Deployment Public cloud services are offered by third-party providers over the public internet and available to anyone who wants to purchase them. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform are major public cloud providers. Private cloud computing resources are used exclusively by a single organization. The organization may host the private cloud in its own data center or a service provider may host it. A hybrid cloud combines public and private clouds allowing data and applications to be shared between them. Multi-cloud uses services from multiple cloud providers. ## Cloud Service Models Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. The provider manages physical servers, storage, and networking. The customer manages the operating system, middleware, and applications. Platform as a Service or PaaS provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications without managing the underlying infrastructure. Software as a Service or SaaS delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis. Users access the application through a web browser without installing anything locally. ## Benefits of Cloud Computing Cloud computing allows organizations to avoid the capital expense of buying hardware and software and setting up data centers. Resources can be scaled up or down quickly to meet demand. Cloud providers operate globally, allowing services to be deployed in multiple regions. Cloud providers maintain large teams of security experts and invest heavily in security. Organizations can access the latest technologies without long procurement and implementation cycles.