The term cloud (German: “Wolke”) is short for cloud compution and refers to an infrastructure for the provision of IT services and resources that are accessible via the internet. It is essentially a collection of servers distributed in data centres around the world and connected via the internet. Transmission from the user’s end device (tablet, PC, smartphone) is via the web. Companies and individuals can access these servers to use services such as storage space, computing power, application software and databases without having to own or manage the necessary physical hardware themselves. Once data has been stored in a cloud, it can be retrieved at any later destination and also with any other device.
Cloud infrastructure allows businesses and individuals to reduce IT costs as they only have to pay for the resources they actually use. Scalability is another key benefit of the cloud, as businesses and individuals can quickly and easily add or reduce additional resources as needed. In addition, the cloud offers greater flexibility as services and resources can be accessed from anywhere as long as there is an internet connection.
There are different types of cloud services, including public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. With public cloud services, several companies or individuals share the same servers and resources, while with private cloud services, the infrastructure is provided exclusively for a specific company or organisation. Hybrid cloud services allow companies to use a combination of public and private cloud services to meet their scalability and security needs.
Overall, cloud infrastructure offers numerous benefits that businesses and individuals can use to reduce their IT costs, increase their flexibility and improve their scalability.