How Do Cloud Service Providers Help You Out?

The concept of cloud computing, which is to allow multiple computers to share resources with each other through a network or ‘cloud’, isn’t exactly new. It was introduced in 1969 and led to the development of the Internet, which in turn gave rise to modern cloud computing as people know it 30 years hence.

Much has changed since that time, though, and various cloud service providers have refined the methods computers use to share resources with each other. Today, cloud computing can be classified according to the services provided or the methods deployed.
 

In terms of services, cloud computing can be offered as SaaS (software as a service), which allows multiple computers to use pre-existing cloud-based software using a web browser. PaaS (platform as a service) expands this concept by allowing computers to build their own software and share them with others in the cloud. IaaS (infrastructure as a service) takes the concept to its logical conclusion by allowing computers to use everybody else’s servers, data storage, and other hardware.

In terms of deployment, cloud computing is offered either as public (i.e. where everyone can access cloud-based resources) or private (i.e. where only a few have access). Some service providers offer a hybrid cloud of sorts that allow people to use private and public clouds, with certain limitations as to their levels of access.