How Cloud Services Function
Cloud services facilitate the flow of data to and from the servers of cloud service providers/vendors and user/customer servers and gadgets. Users can access cloud services through a computer with an internet connection or a virtual private network. They allow customers to forgo investment into the payment of software licenses and the acquisition of supporting network infrastructure and servers.
The use of cloud services allows customers to access software, cloud storage, computing power, IT infrastructure, and other services without the need for incurring maintenance costs or carrying out software and hardware updates. Cloud service providers use various billing models to charge customers, which is dependent on the resources consumed. They are usually pay-as-you-go plans on a monthly or annual
Types of Cloud Services
-
Software as a Service (Saas)
Software as a Service (Saas) is a model for distributing on-demand software applications to consumers through a cloud service. It is offered through a monthly or yearly subscription that is scalable if extra resources are needed, or additional users are added. It is the most recognized cloud service model where vendor applications run on a cloud infrastructure.
-
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is the basic foundation of cloud infrastructure and involves the offer of virtual and physical IT infrastructure and networking features to customers. IaaS is the basic platform to build new technologies and host cloud-based services, including SaaS services.
-
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is the provision of on-demand tools for developing software applications through a web-based online environment. The PaaS package is a computing platform that includes a database, operating system, web servers, network, and programming language execution environment that users can use to develop cloud-based software and mobile applications. PaaS requires sophisticated development to support technologies such as application programming interface (APIs), automation, routing, orchestration, and containerization.
Other Cloud Platform Types
-
Serverless computing
Serverless computing is an architecture where a code execution model is deployed, managed, and controlled by a vendor to cater to customer requests. It leaps over traditional models of application development and deployment on servers. Users forgo purchase, lease, management, provisioning, and maintenance of servers and virtual machines for the back-end code to run.
-
Function as a Service (FaaS)
Function as a Service (FaaS) is a concept of serverless computing where a service is hosted remotely to enable the deployment of functions in the cloud. FaaS uploads functional blocks of code which are activated by specific events. With FaaS, there is no need to manage cloud infrastructure or application runtimes as there is no consumption of IaaS resources.
-
Cloud Deployment Models
Cloud deployment models are premised on virtualization and differ in terms of storage, location, capacity, accessibility, and other facets. The deployment models above are mainly distinguished through the following factors:
Implementation type Hosting type Accessibility Therefore, organizations that use cloud services should be able to select deployment models that work best for their operations.
