In the context of Information Technology (IT), Cloud means the Cloud Computing, which refers to the IT resources and applications which you can access over the Internet. This is it! There no other requirements to call it a cloud computing. However, there are some misconceptions, let's clarify them:
- Cloud doesn't have to be hosted in public. You can create a cloud environment hosted in your data center or request a dedicated cloud environment (called a private cloud) hosted by cloud vendors such as Oracle and Amazon. The cloud environment can be solely used by you while is not accessible or is exposed to anyone else.
- Cloud resources don't have to be shared. One of the main advantages of cloud computing is the resource pooling, with which you can request resources on-demand. However, you don't have to share the computing resources with others although most public cloud service vendors provide shared computing environments to offer lower service cost.
- Cloud resources don't have to be elastic. Most of the cloud solutions support elastically provisioning and releasing of the resources, This allows you to only pay for the resources you use. However, you don't have to use it this way. You can request fixed size of resources as needed.
- Security is top priority: The Internet has billions of users, providing internet access is risky. It's important to prevent unauthorized access and protect the communications between your cloud services and the end users.
- Availability is necessary: Internet users can connect to a cloud service from anywhere in the world. This means cloud services have to be available 24x7.
- User experience becomes essential: With the Internet, users can access the services beyond their computers in the office. They can access the services from their laptop at the airport or use their cell phones on the road. It's essential to provide a friendly and easy-to-use interface so that users can get summarized report and receive notifications based on their interests.
- 5 Essential Characteristics of Cloud Computing
- What Is Cloud Computing?, by Eric Griffith, May 3, 2016, PCMag.com