Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics, over the internet ("the cloud"). Rather than owning and maintaining physical data centers and servers, organizations can rent access to these resources on a pay-as-you-go basis from cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
Cloud computing is typically categorized into three main service models:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – Provides virtualized computing resources like virtual machines, storage, and networks.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) – Offers a managed platform for developing, running, and managing applications without dealing with underlying infrastructure.
- Software as a Service (SaaS) – Delivers fully functional software applications accessible via a web browser.
Cloud computing has changed how businesses build and scale software. It offers great flexibility, allowing development teams to spin up environments in minutes, scale infrastructure automatically based on demand, and only pay for the resources they consume. Cloud-native architectures enable faster development cycles, improved reliability through redundancy, and global reach through distributed data centers.
Security, compliance, and cost optimization remain important considerations when adopting cloud computing. A well-architected cloud strategy involves selecting the right services, implementing proper access controls, and continuously monitoring resource usage to balance performance with cost efficiency.