Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing refers to the on-demand delivery of computing resources, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics, over the internet. Instead of maintaining physical data centers, organizations can rent access to anything from applications to storage from a cloud service provider. The primary leaders in the market include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). According to the NIST Definition of Cloud Computing, the model is characterized by five essential traits: on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.
The industry typically classifies services into three fundamental models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), which provides virtualized hardware; Platform as a Service (PaaS), which offers tools for application development; and Software as a Service (SaaS), which delivers end-user applications. Deployment strategies vary based on organizational needs, ranging from Public Cloud and Private Cloud to Hybrid Cloud and Multi-cloud environments. The underlying efficiency of these systems is largely driven by Virtualization technology. Modern cloud-native development often utilizes Containerization and Serverless Computing to optimize scalability and reduce operational overhead, as noted in documentation by IBM Cloud Education.