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What Is Cloud Computing? | Microsoft Azure

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What is cloud computing: Learn how organizations use and benefit from cloud computing, and which types of cloud computing and cloud services are available.

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What is cloud computing? Everything you need to know about the cloud explained

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Fully updated: An introduction to cloud computing, right from the basics up to IaaS and PaaS, hybrid, public, and private cloud, AWS and Azure.

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Cloud Computing For Beginners | What is Cloud Computing | Cloud Computing Explained | Simplilearn

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A global CDN and cloud-based web application firewall for your website to supercharge the performance and secure from online threats. SUCURI WAF protects from OWASP top 10 vulnerabilities, brute force, DDoS, malware, and more.

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14 Cloud Computing Online Courses to Supercharge Your Career

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A global CDN and cloud-based web application firewall for your website to supercharge the performance and secure from online threats. SUCURI WAF protects from OWASP top 10 vulnerabilities, brute force, DDoS, malware, and more.

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Empower your institute with best-of-breed cloud services and solutions

Modernize your campus with state-of-the-art-technology

Transform your entire campus to the cloud with Microsoft Edu-Cloud that comprises of a host of cloud-based solution and services.

Now Edu-Cloud also offers the benefits of Microsoft 365 to education institutes

Learn anytime, anywhere with Office 365 and Office Client applications

Bring ideas to life with PowerPoint

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A3/A5 plan applicable basis Faculty/users/knowledge workers​

Download Edu-Cloud brochure

M365 Powered by Edu-Cloud and benefits for students

M365 A3 benefits for students based on 1:40 student instances provided per faculty/staff or knowledge worker

Solution components for your campus

Communication and Collaboration

50 Gb e-mail box with school domain (e.g. yourname@yourschooldomain.in)

Online sharing of documents

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Upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10

Faculty and students can use Office ProPlus Suite on up to five different devices

Collaborate and co-create content for classes, assignments and projects

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Get ready to tap into the potential of cloud today, for tomorrow!

Edu-Cloud Institutes

For more information about Edu-Cloud program,
write to Microsoft Edu-Cloud Program Cell

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Become a 'Trusted Cloud' Campus | Microsoft Edu-Cloud Program

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Empower your institute with best-of-breed cloud services and solutions Transform your entire campus to the cloud with Microsoft Edu-Cloud that comprises of a host of cloud-based solution and services.

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What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud Computing is defined as storing and accessing of data and computing services over the internet. It doesn't store any data on your personal computer. It is the on-demand availability of computer services like servers, data storage, networking, databases, etc. The main purpose of cloud computing is to give access to data centers to many users. Users can also access data from a remote server.

Examples of Cloud Computing Services:
AWS, Azure, Google Cloud

Let's learn Cloud Computing basics with an example -

Whenever you travel through a bus or train, you take a ticket for your destination and hold back to your seat till you reach your destination. Likewise other passengers also takes ticket and travel in the same bus with you and it hardly bothers you where they go. When your stop comes you get off the bus thanking the driver. Cloud computing is just like that bus, carrying data and information for different users and allows to use its service with minimal cost.

In this Cloud Computing tutorial, you will learn

Why the Name Cloud?

The term "Cloud" came from a network design that was used by network engineers to represent the location of various network devices and there inter-connection. The shape of this network design was like a cloud.

Why Cloud Computing?

With increase in computer and Mobile user's, data storage has become a priority in all fields. Large and small scale businesses today thrive on their data & they spent a huge amount of money to maintain this data. It requires a strong IT support and a storage hub. Not all businesses can afford high cost of in-house IT infrastructure and back up support services. For them Cloud Computing is a cheaper solution. Perhaps its efficiency in storing data, computation and less maintenance cost has succeeded to attract even bigger businesses as well.

Cloud computing decreases the hardware and software demand from the user's side. The only thing that user must be able to run is the cloud computing systems interface software, which can be as simple as Web browser, and the Cloud network takes care of the rest. We all have experienced cloud computing at some instant of time, some of the popular cloud services we have used or we are still using are mail services like gmail, hotmail or yahoo etc.

While accessing e-mail service our data is stored on cloud server and not on our computer. The technology and infrastructure behind the cloud is invisible. It is less important whether cloud services are based on HTTP, XML, Ruby, PHP or other specific technologies as far as it is user friendly and functional. An individual user can connect to cloud system from his/her own devices like desktop, laptop or mobile.

Cloud computing harnesses small business effectively having limited resources, it gives small businesses access to the technologies that previously were out of their reach. Cloud computing helps small businesses to convert their maintenance cost into profit. Let's see how?

In an in-house IT server, you have to pay a lot of attention and ensure that there are no flaws into the system so that it runs smoothly. And in case of any technical glitch you are completely responsible; it will seek a lot of attention, time and money for repair. Whereas, in cloud computing, the service provider takes the complete responsibility of the complication and the technical faults.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

The potential for cost saving is the major reason of cloud services adoption by many organizations. Cloud computing gives the freedom to use services as per the requirement and pay only for what you use. Due to cloud computing it has become possible to run IT operations as a outsourced unit without much in-house resources.

Now in this Cloud Computing tutorial, we will learn the benefits of Cloud Computing. Following are the benefits of cloud computing:

1. Lower IT infrastructure and computer costs for users

2. Improved performance

3. Fewer Maintenance issues

4. Instant software updates

5. Improved compatibility between Operating systems

6. Backup and recovery

7. Performance and Scalability

8. Increased storage capacity

9. Increase data safety

Types of Clouds

There are four different cloud models that you can subscribe according to business needs. Following are the different Types of Clouds:

Types of Clouds

1. Private Cloud: Here, computing resources are deployed for one particular organization. This method is more used for intra-business interactions. Where the computing resources can be governed, owned and operated by the same organization.

2. Community Cloud: Here, computing resources are provided for a community and organizations.

3. Public Cloud: This type of cloud is used usually for B2C (Business to Consumer) type interactions. Here the computing resource is owned, governed and operated by government, an academic or business organization.

4. Hybrid Cloud: This type of cloud can be used for both type of interactions - B2B (Business to Business) or B2C ( Business to Consumer). This deployment method is called hybrid cloud as the computing resources are bound together by different clouds.

Cloud Computing Services

The three major Cloud Computing Offerings are

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Different business use some or all of these components according to their requirement.

SaaS (Software as a Service)

SaaS or software as a service is a software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over a network (internet). SaaS is becoming an increasingly prevalent delivery model as underlying technologies that supports Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) or Web Services. Through internet this service is available to users anywhere in the world.

Traditionaly, software application needed to be purchased upfront &then installed it onto your computer. SaaS users on the other hand, instead of purchasing the software subscribes to it, usually on monthly basisvia internet.

Anyone who needs an access to a particular piece of software can be subscribe as a user, whether it is one or two people or every thousands of employees in a corporation. SaaS is compatible with all internet enabled devices.

Many important tasks like accounting, sales, invoicing and planning all can be performed using SaaS.

PaaS (Platform as a Service)

Platform as a service, is referred as PaaS, it provides a platform and environment to allow developers to build applications and services. This service is hosted in the cloud and accessed by the users via internet.

To understand in a simple terms, let compare this with painting a picture, where you are provided with paint colors, different paint brushes and paper by your school teacher and you just have to draw a beautiful picture using those tools.

PaaS services are constantly updated & new features added. Software developers, web developers and business can benefit from PaaS. It provides platform to support application development. It includes software support and management services, storage, networking, deploying, testing, collaborating, hosting and maintaining applications.

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

IaaS (Infrastructure As A Service) is one of the fundamental service model of cloud computing alongside PaaS( Platform as a Service). It provides access to computing resources in a virtualized environment "the cloud" on internet. It provides computing infrastructure like virtual server space, network connections, bandwidth, load balancers and IP addresses. The pool of hardware resource is extracted from multiple servers and networks usually distributed across numerous data centers. This provides redundancy and reliability to IaaS.

IaaS(Infrastructure as a service) is a complete package for computing. For small scale businesses who are looking for cutting cost on IT infrastructure, IaaS is one of the solutions. Annually a lot of money is spent in maintenance and buying new components like hard-drives, network connections, external storage device etc. which a business owner could have saved for other expenses by using IaaS.

What is Cloud Computing Architecture?

Cloud Computing Architecture is a combination of components required for a Cloud Computing service. A Cloud computing architecture consists of several components like a front-end platform, a back-end platform or servers, a network or internet service, and a cloud based delivery service.

Let's have a look into Cloud Computing and see what Cloud Computing is made of. Cloud computing comprises of two components front end and back end. Front end consist client part of cloud computing system. It comprise of interfaces and applications that are required to access the Cloud Computing or Cloud Programming platform.

Cloud Computing Architecture

While back end refers to the cloud itself, it comprises of the resources that are required for cloud computing services. It consists of virtual machines, servers, data storage, security mechanism etc. It is under providers control.

Cloud computing distributes the file system that spreads over multiple hard disks and machines. Data is never stored in one place only and in case one unit fails the other will take over automatically. The user disk space is allocated on the distributed file system, while another important component is algorithm for resource allocation. Cloud computing is a strong distributed environment and it heavily depends upon strong algorithm.

Virtualization and Cloud Computing

The main enabling technology for Cloud Computing is Virtualization. Virtualization is a partitioning of single physical server into multiple logical servers. Once the physical server is divided, each logical server behaves like a physical server and can run an operating system and applications independently. Many popular companies's like VmWare and Microsoft provide virtualization services, where instead of using your personal PC for storage and computation, you use their virtual server. They are fast, cost-effective and less time consuming.

For software developers and testers virtualization comes very handy, as it allows developer to write code that runs in many different environments and more importantly to test that code.

Virtualization is mainly used for three main purposes 1) Network Virtualization 2) Server Virtualization 3) Storage Virtualization

Network Virtualization: It is a method of combining the available resources in a network by splitting up the available bandwidth into channels, each of which is independent from the others and each channel is independent of others and can be assigned to a specific server or device in real time.

Storage Virtualization: It is the pooling of physical storage from multiple network storage devices into what appears to be a single storage device that is managed from a central console. Storage virtualization is commonly used in storage area networks (SANs).

Server Virtualization: Server virtualization is the masking of server resources like processors, RAM, operating system etc, from server users. The intention of server virtualization is to increase the resource sharing and reduce the burden and complexity of computation from users.

Virtualization is the key to unlock the Cloud system, what makes virtualization so important for the cloud is that it decouples the software from the hardware. For example, PC's can use virtual memory to borrow extra memory from the hard disk. Usually hard disk has a lot more space than memory. Although virtual disks are slower than real memory, if managed properly the substitution works perfectly. Likewise, there is software which can imitate an entire computer, which means 1 computer can perform the functions equals to 20 computers.

Grid Computing Vs Cloud Computing

When we switch on the fan or any electric device, we are less concern about the power supply from where it comes and how it is generated. The power supply or electricity that we receives at our home travels through a chain of network, which includes power stations, transformers, power lines and transmission stations. These components together make a 'Power Grid'. Likewise, 'Grid Computing' is an infrastructure that links computing resources such as PCs, servers, workstations and storage elements and provides the mechanism required to access them.

Grid Computing is a middle ware to co-ordinate disparate IT resources across a network, allowing them to function as whole. It is more often used in scientific research and in universities for educational purpose. For example, a group of architect students working on a different project requires a specific designing tool and a software for designing purpose but only couple of them got access to this designing tool, the problem is how they can make this tool available to rest of the students. To make available for other students they will put this designing tool on campus network, now the grid will connect all these computers in campus network and allow student to use designing tool required for their project from anywhere.

Cloud computing and Grid computing is often confused, though there functions are almost similar there approach for their functionality is different. Let see how they operate-

Cloud Computing

Grid Computing

Cloud is a collection of computers usually owned by a single party.

A grid is a collection of computers which is owned by a multiple parties in multiple locations and connected together so that users can share the combined power of resources

Utility Computing Vs Cloud Computing

In our previous conversation in "Grid Computing" we have seen how electricity is supplied to our house, also we do know that to keep electricity supply we have to pay the bill. Utility Computing is just like that, we use electricity at home as per our requirement and pay the bill accordingly likewise you will use the services for the computing and pay as per the use this is known as 'Utility computing'. Utility computing is a good source for small scale usage, it can be done in any server environment and requires Cloud Computing.

Utility computing is the process of providing service through an on-demand, pay per use billing method. The customer or client has access to a virtually unlimited supply of computing solutions over a virtual private network or over the internet, which can be sourced and used whenever it's required. Based on the concept of utility computing , grid computing, cloud computing and managed IT services are based.

Through utility computing small businesses with limited budget can easily use software like CRM (Customer Relationship Management) without investing heavily on infrastructure to maintain their clientele base.

Utility Computing

Cloud Computing

Security concerns for Cloud Computing

While using cloud computing, the major issue that concerns the users is about its security.

One concern is that cloud providers themselves may have access to customer's unencrypted data- whether it's on disk, in memory or transmitted over the network.

Some countries government may decide to search through data without necessarily notifying the data owner, depending on where the data resides, which is not appreciated and is considered as a privacy breach (Example Prism Program by USA).

To provide security for systems, networks and data cloud computing service providers have joined hands with TCG ( Trusted Computing Group) which is non-profit organization which regularly releases a set of specifications to secure hardware, create self-encrypting drives and improve network security. It protects the data from root kits and malware.

As computing has expanded to different devices like hard disk drives and mobile phones, TCG has extended the security measures to include these devices. It provides ability to create a unified data protection policy across all clouds.

Some of the trusted cloud services are Amazon, Box.net, Gmail and many others.

Privacy Concern & Cloud Computing

Privacy present a strong barrier for users to adapt into Cloud Computing systems

There are certain measures which can improve privacy in cloud computing.

1. The administrative staff of the cloud computing service could theoretically monitor the data moving in memory before it is stored in disk.To keep the confidentiality of a data, administrative and legal controls should prevent this from happening.

2. The other way for increasing the privacy is to keep the data encrypted at the cloud storage site, preventing unauthorized access through the internet; even cloud vendor can't access the data either.

Case-Study of Cloud Computing- Royal Mail

Subject of Case-Study:Using Cloud Computing for effective communication among staff.

Reason for using Cloud Computing:Reducing the cost made after communication for 28,000 employees and to provide advance features and interface of e-mail services to their employees.

Royal mail group, a postal service in U.K, is the only government organization in U.K that serves over 24 million customers through its 12000 post offices and 3000 separate processing sites. Its logistics systems and parcel-force worldwide handles around 404 million parcel a year. And to do this they need an effective communicative medium. They have recognized the advantage of Cloud Computing and implemented it to their system. It has shown an outstanding performance in inter-communication.

Before moving on to Cloud system, the organization was struggling with the out-of-date software, and due to which the operational efficiency was getting compromised. As soon as the organization switched on to Cloud System, 28000 employees were supplied with their new collaboration suite, giving them access to tools such as instant messaging and presence awareness. The employees got more storage place than on local server. The employees became much more productive.

Looking to the success of Cloud Computing in e-mail services and communication .The second strategic move of Royal Mail Group, was to migrating from physical servers to virtual servers, upto 400 servers to create a private cloud based on Microsoft hyper V. This would give a fresh look and additional space to their employees desktop and also provides latest modern exchange environment.

The hyper V project by RMG's (Royal Mail Group) is estimated to save around 1.8 million pound for them in future and will increase the efficiency of the organization's internal IT system.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate 2018

The above Cloud Computing Tutorial covers all the basic Cloud Computing notes and Cloud Computing Examples which helps you to understand all the Cloud Computing basics.

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Cloud Computing Tutorial for Beginners: What is & Architecture

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Cloud Computing is defined as storing and accessing of data and computing services over the internet. It doesn't store any data on your personal computer. It is the on-demand availability of computer services like servers, data storage, networking, databases, etc. The main purpose of cloud computing is to give access to data centers to many users.

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Millennials may feel like cloud computing is something from their generation, but the truth is that it actually traces its roots back over 60 years. Since the 1950s, organizations have been using an increasingly complex and ever-changing system of mainframe computers to process their data. In the early days, mainframe computers were huge and prohibitively expensive.

This led most organizations to purchase one or two machines and then implement "time-sharing" schedules so that their return on investment (ROI) was as great as possible. With time-sharing, several users could access a mainframe computer from connected stations that carried no processing power of their own. This type of shared computational power is the basic premise of the cloud.

The Time-Sharing Theory

1955 saw John McCarthy, who originally coined the term "artificial intelligence," create a theory of sharing computing time among an entire group of users. Getting the most out of computing time was an important consideration in the 1950s because it could cost upwards of several million dollars. It was a ridiculously expensive asset, and maximizing it was a top priority among those who were shelling out the cash for the technology.

Small companies couldn't even afford to use computers, making moving to the type of automation enjoyed by larger companies impossible. McCarthy's theory of "time-sharing" would be essential in helping get the most out of the computing time available, as well as making computing time available to smaller companies that couldn't afford to buy their own mainframes.

A Giant Step for Cloud Computing

As technology evolved, the idea of cloud computing moved ahead incrementally, with little major advancement until the last year of the 1960s. In the mid-1960s, an American computer scientist named J.C.R. Licklider came up with an idea for an interconnected system of computers. In 1969, Licklider's revolutionary idea helped Bob Taylor and Larry Roberts develop something known as ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).

ARPANET is widely known as the "predecessor of the Internet" and was the first network that allowed digital sources to be shared among computers that were not in the same physical location. Licklider also envisioned a world where everyone would be connected; to have the ability to access specific programs and data, regardless of where the access point might be located. If this sounds familiar, that's because it should; it's what is known today as "cloud computing."

Licklider, then, deserves recognition as perhaps one of the most important people in the creation of the modern Internet and cloud computing. It wouldn't be hyperbolic to call him the father of cloud computing technology.

Time (and Technology) Marches On

The decades that followed, from the 1970s to the 1990s, saw many advancements in the technology required for true cloud computing. Computer giant IBM, for example, released an operating system in 1972 called the VM (Virtual Machine) operating system. The 1990s saw several telecommunications companies offer their own versions of virtualized private networks (VPNs).

Once it started to spread, cloud computing caught on quickly and just kept growing. While there is some dispute about the term's origin, cloud computing was already a vibrant and growing asset for companies, educational facilities, and many others by 1996.

Looking to the Future

Cloud computing is creating new opportunities, both for businesses and people interested in working in the field of computer sciences. Cloud computing allows businesses to have the flexibility and efficiency to meet new and growing demands. It provides the infrastructure, software, and platforms necessary for success in today's business landscape, no matter where they're needed. However, as the presence of cloud computing becomes more widespread, the demand for professionals who can manage these networks properly is also becoming more pronounced.

Getting the Education to Work in a Fast-Growing Field

A Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer and Information Science can open up possible career tracks like network support, network implementation, and network and data administration. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2015, network and computer system administrators saw a median income of $77,810 per year.

The need for professionals to fill these jobs is expected to grow by 8% from 2014 to 2024. Jobs in the same vein that require a bit of experience, like computer and information system managers, have an even better outlook: the 2015 median income was $131,600 and the field is expected to grow much faster than average, at 15% over the period from 2014 to 2024. As more companies move to cloud computing, these numbers should only improve.

Are you fascinated by the world of cloud computing? If you could see yourself working in this exciting field, you will need a solid education behind you. ECPI University offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Information Science with a concentration in Cloud Computing. If you'd like to learn more, don't hesitate to contact an ECPI University admissions advisor today. Your future could be in the clouds!

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
DISCLAIMER - ECPI University makes no claim, warranty, or guarantee as to actual employability or earning potential to current, past or future students or graduates of any educational program we offer. The ECPI University website is published for informational purposes only. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on the ECPI.edu domain; however, no warranty of accuracy is made. No contractual rights, either expressed or implied, are created by its content. Gainful Employment Information - Cloud Computing - Bachelor's
For more information about ECPI University or any of our programs click here: http://www.ecpi.edu/ or http://ow.ly/Ca1ya.

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Millennials may feel like cloud computing is something from their generation, but the truth is that it actually traces its roots back over 60 years. Since the 1950s, organizations have been using an increasingly complex and ever-changing system of mainframe computers to process their data.

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Introduction to Free Cloud Computing

In the article, Free Cloud Computing time has come when we need not be tensed if we lose a photo or a document. Everything is safe in Google Drive and Google photos. Proper use with security saves all photos and documents in the cloud. Basic knowledge of cloud services helps us to use them freely. Commonly known cloud services are Google Drive, Dropbox, one drive, and iCloud and so on. Most of these provide storage of 50GB. Companies have introduced to help people and their businesses. Many of the free cloud services offer more storage if we refer to friends. Let us check some free cloud services.

Top 8 Free Cloud Computing Services

Below are the top free cloud computing services.

1. Google Drive

Many of us knowingly or unknowingly use google drive to save a document or slides. It offers 15GB storage freely. It is easy to use google drive if we have synchronized our mobile or computer devices with google account. Even if we are offline or the network is slow, it is easy to access Google Drive and check the files needed. This is one of the famous free cloud storage. Folders can be created in google drive and can be shared with other users. Storage is shared with other Google apps. It is easy to collaborate with others using google drive.

2. Dropbox

Dropbox is a household name that has both mobile and desktop apps. Dropbox starts with a 2GB storage free which adds up to 18GB in simple ways. We can share files through dropbox to anyone even though they do not have a dropbox account. Dropbox has good backup features. Dropbox provides a remote wipe feature that helps to erase all files or documents if the device is lost. Dropbox will not automatically copy all the files and hence we have to select and copy the files. Dropbox is secured with a scalable infrastructure protected with 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Dropbox saves a copy of the file on our computer if it is saved in dropbox.

3. OneDrive

OneDrive was known as SkyDrive which is owned by Microsoft that provides 5GB of storage when the user signs up. This app provides extra storage if we refer a friend or do some other tasks. OneDrive also supports sharing files with users who do not use OneDrive. OneDrive can be used in both mobile and desktop devices. After dropbox, people prefer OneDrive for cloud storage. Earlier it used to provide 15GB storage. Users can access Microsoft applications in OneDrive. Backup is available in OneDrive. Folder protection feature is available in OneDrive settings for safe storage of files.

4. Mega

Mega provides 50GB storage free. Mega does not integrate with the file system but needs a web browser to upload or download files. We may not get the original piece of data we saved in Mega as it adds or deletes some data that we have saved. Megastores only encrypted files. AES 128 bit key is used to encrypt and decrypt files or documents. We can use Mega in mobile and desktops. Mega is slow when compared with other apps. Mega files are publicly shared so that anyone can download the shared content without any authorization.

5. Media Fire

Media Fire provides 10GB of data storage to store photos and documents online. This is easy to use. File synchronization is also done in Media Fire. Media Fire is used in both mobile and desktop. Files are shared both publicly and privately through Media Fire. It also provides links that can be used only once to download the files. Media Fire is one of the fastest-growing cloud apps. It supports most of the file formats for audio and video storage as well as document storage. Contacts are imported for private sharing of files. Also, it is done through email.

6. Sync.com

Sync.com provides 5GB free storage which can be upgraded any time. Sync provides privacy with end to end encryption. Sync helps users to send files to anyone even though they don't have a sync account. File backup is done automatically. Sync is used on both mobile and desktop. Files that are shared are accessed through the sync folder. Deleted files are recovered in the Sync app. The app is updated automatically so that better performance is ensured. Files are protected with passwords provided by users. App transfer speed can be set up according to user preference. The progress tab shows the progress of the files being transferred.

7. pCloud

pCloud provides a maximum of 2TB storage for a lifetime and 10GB storage for its basic accounts. In pCloud, we can work on the files stored in the server and hence it acts as a work-sharing tool. It creates a virtual drive in the computer to store the files. pCloud crypto stores the files safely with encryption. Integrated file sharing and synchronization are provided in pCloud drive. The status of uploading is shown at the bottom of the window. pCloud has both mobile and desktop applications. File history is tracked for 30 days even though it is deleted.

8. Amazon Drive

Amazon Drive, previously known as Amazon Cloud Drive is Amazon's cloud storage that provides 5GB storage for prime and non-prime members. Also, the user can order photo prints in Amazon drive. The application is highly customizable. As of now, Amazon's drive is limited to a few countries. Amazon's Drive has both mobile and desktop applications. The application is mainly used to store photos. Files are automatically backed up and uploaded. A shareable link is created to share files with other users. At any point, the user can break the link and make the files private. Many languages are being supported in Amazon's drive. Some other free cloud storage applications are iCloud, Zoho, planbox, box. Most of these help in collaboration and project management.

Conclusion

Though cloud storage is helpful to store and access our data, it is good to remember that the cloud is not safe up to a level. So it is good to select a cloud application that provides better encryption and safety to our files and photos. Care has to be taken while sharing private photos in the cloud. Other than this, cloud storage is one of the best things that technology has given to us.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Free Cloud Computing. Here we discuss the basic concept and top Free cloud computing services like google drive, OneDrive, Mega, Media Fire, etc, in detailed. You can also go through our other suggested articles to learn more -

1. Cloud Computing Companies With Features

2. Cloud Computing vs Grid Computing | Top Differences

3. Cloud Computing Technologies with Benefits

4. Cloud Computing Service Providers

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Free Cloud Computing | Learn Top 8 Free Cloud Computing Services

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In the article, Free Cloud Computing time has come when we need not be tensed if we lose a photo or a document. Everything is safe in Google Drive and Google photos. Proper use with security saves all photos and documents in the cloud. Basic knowledge of cloud services helps us to use them freely.

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Cloud computing primer

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing-also known as the public cloud, the commercial cloud, or just "the cloud"-is a massive computing resource accessed via the internet. Cloud computing has five components:

Compute-Virtual machines ranging from small to extremely powerful

Storage-Effectively infinite

Networking-Connectivity both local and with the internet

Data management-Databases and related structure

Services-Special features such as streaming data analytics

Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Google are among the largest cloud providers. They offer their computers, storage and networking hardware as a service, through the web, known as "Infrastructure as a Service" (IaaS). They also provide higher-level "Platform as a Service" (PaaS) on top of those basic services, such as data management and networking tools that range from operating systems to databases and many more add-on services. All these resources are maintained in secure data centers in multiple geographic locations. Customers access resources online, buying as little or as much as they need.

The UW works closely with public cloud vendors to provide research teams with cost-effective cloud access, and meet federal compliance regulations (HIPAA, FISMA, FERPA). Read below for more information on the benefits of cloud computing for research, including cost, security, usability and scale.

How the cloud applies to research computing

Cloud computing scales down or (way) up to support research computing without the hassles of operating and maintaining your own computing environment. You can implement processing pipelines, build and test modifications, create websites and web applications, implement databases, and securely manage your research computing environment. You can collaborate and easily share your data with others. Specifically, you can:

Archive data cheaply with extremely high reliability

Build out familiar data systems (Postgres, MySQL, Spark)

Create automated secure data feeds that extract from / load to your data system

Maintain data repositories for other researchers to access

Manage access to your cloud resources across your research team, and with collaborators around the globe

Learn about capabilities and features of the cloud that may be new to you

Run MATLAB, R, Python or any other programming environment

Create an accurate estimate of what your use of the cloud will cost

Easily pull your data and software out of the cloud if you so choose , or move to a different cloud

The cloud is paid for as a utility

You pay for what you use and turn resources off when you are done. At the UW, cloud computing is not subject to indirect costs.
Two important points to keep in mind about costs:

Cloud vendors such as Amazon and Microsoft are promoting cloud adoption by making research grants available. This means that you can easily apply for and obtain a year of cloud credit to explore using the cloud with no financial risk

An hour of compute time on a moderately powerful computer and a gigabyte-month of storage each cost about three cents, a starting point for thinking about cost

The cloud is secure with appropriate steps

The cloud is physically and programmatically secure, provided you take the appropriate precautions. As part of our cloud consulting service we will help you develop, document and follow the necessary steps to secure your data. We provide a growing set of guidelines and procedures pertaining to cloud security that includes compliance with HIPAA regulations (UW has a BAA with its cloud providers); and we are available to help you determine what you need.

Cloud computing allows you to scale your needs

Four elements make up the 'cloud scale' argument-how cloud computing resources scale to a given computational task. They include:

Machine types: Cloud vendors have many types of computers available to match your work: memory-intensive, compute-intensive, general purpose, small-scale, moderate, powerful, GPU-based and so on

Machine quantity: A parallelizable compute task can be scaled to multiple machines (hundreds or thousands) in order to complete the task in a short amount of time; this costs the same as using fewer machines and more time

Start-up latency: There is no wait for cloud resources to become available

Obstruction: Others are not blocked from doing their computational work when you are using the public cloud

Taming the learning curve: Helping you succeed

Like any new technology, using the cloud involves a learning curve. The key to adopting the cloud is making time to learn how to use it effectively. To help you evaluate whether that time investment will pay off in the long term, UW-IT Research Computing provides:

We work closely with the UW eScience Institute to support your data science needs. Contact us to get help.

Our goal is to help you overcome obstacles and make your path more about science and less about purchase orders, hardware and cooling, and operating system patches. We believe that the cloud can be a powerful tool to help you along that path.

In the cloud migration process, each case is unique. Sometimes cloud migration can be quite straightforward, but in cases where some additional help and training is needed, we are here to support you.

How the cloud compares to alternatives

UW-IT provides help and support for cloud computing and for managed services based on computing resources owned and operated by the University. Explore your options at Research Computing.

Cloud computing Q&A

Q: Is the cloud secure?
A: Yes. Physical resources reside in secure facilities, with independent auditing practices followed by the cloud vendors. Data are encrypted and host companies do not have access to those encryption keys. You (the account holder) manage access through user identities and access policies.

Example: Suppose you have a highly parallel task that takes 40 hours on 20 nodes with 16 cores each. If you are sharing computing resources with other research groups, you may need to wait 24 hours-or maybe weeks-to use them, so your wall-clock time for one processing run becomes 64 hours or much longer. In the cloud, you can distribute your work among 2,000 machines, start immediately and run your work to completion in 30 minutes. The cloud has many strengths, and scalability is one of the biggest.

Visit our getting started Q: How do I get started?
A: getting started page. Also, read the questions below about funding your research migration to the cloud. Visit us by appointment or during office hours at the eScience Institute's Data Science Studio or contact the UW-IT Research Computing team.

UW-IT regularly holds training days and workshops that are coordinated with public cloud vendors, particularly Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft. We are also welcoming Google participation into the UW cloud computing arena and hope to welcome other vendors. Visit our Q: Do you offer any training?
A: training calendar.

No, you are not locked in. We show you technologies such as Q: Once I get started, am I locked in with a particular vendor? Am I locked into the cloud forever?
A: Docker containers that can be moved between cloud environments as you see fit. We can also help you with the details of data archival and relocation and with comparison of cloud vendor services.

Because cloud-based technology so closely mirrors traditional computing, you will find that the flexibility of computing translates well to the cloud, including the flexibility to pack up and move on when you so desire.

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Cloud computing-also known as the public cloud, the commercial cloud, or just "the cloud"-is a massive computing resource accessed via the internet. Cloud computing has five components: Compute-Virtual machines ranging from small to extremely powerful Storage-Effectively infinite Networking-Connectivity both local and with the internet Data management-Databases and related structure Services-Special features such as streaming data analytics Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Google are among the largest cloud providers.

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Cloud skills are critical for digital transformation and cloud experts are highly sought after globally by businesses aiming to gain a competitive advantage. Cloud technologies have transformed data storage and processing, networking and communication infrastructure provisioning and application development lifecycles. By training in this field, you'll be equipped to work across numerous industries that are experiencing critical skills shortages in cloud computing.

As a graduate, you may find employment in roles such as:

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Cloud skills are critical for digital transformation and cloud experts are highly sought after globally by businesses aiming to gain a competitive advantage. Cloud technologies have transformed data storage and processing, networking and communication infrastructure provisioning and application development lifecycles.