What is the Cloud?
"First to mind when asked what 'the cloud' is, a majority respond it’s either an actual cloud, the sky, or something related to weather." So says a cloud management platform survey from 2012.
You’ve likely heard of “the cloud” before, and in this case, it’s unrelated to the weather! The cloud refers to servers accessed over the internet, and the services, like software and databases, that run on those servers. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is an example of a cloud-based model that helps IT businesses execute important initiatives. Many companies and people share computing power in the cloud, making it more cost-effective than if every individual/business had their own in-house computing.
Why Does it Matter?
The concept of the cloud appeared in the mid-1990s, but the emergence of Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services in the mid-2000s saw an explosion in the importance of the cloud, and it hasn’t slowed down.
Many businesses and services are cloud-based now. Being cloud-based can save businesses money and provide unmatched convenience and access for customers.
While some see the cloud as a data security risk, others affirm that the majority of what people do is cloud-based already, so there’s no avoiding the necessity of, at the very least, understanding what the cloud is.
