Cloud Computing

In general usage ‘the cloud’ is used to describe a wide variety of things which could (or could not be) in the cloud. Most generally an end user will consider a software as a service system to be what they mean by cloud, or simply the internet. In this sense the term can simply mean an absence of knowledge of how the system or service is supplied.

Within computing ‘cloud computing’ refers to the on-demand availability of computing resources. This is typically done without direct intervention of the consumer of those resources although there may be additional safe guards to limit or restrict this. Cloud computing services are typically provided on a pay as you go basis; this means they may not represent a fixed operating cost.

A misconception with cloud computing is that it refers to infinite computing resources. All clouds exist physically and as such have finite resources. In practice it is unlikely that a single user would be able to exhaust the resources of a cloud service provider. Another misconception is that data held in the cloud is automatically backed up. The same risks apply to data held in the cloud as to data held elsewhere. Backups must be arranged with at least the same considerations as if the data were hosted locally; additional risks stem from the higher profile of cloud data centres and services as well as local connectivity issues.