Cloud Computing is changing the scenario of the online business. Many businesses and companies are adopting the environment of Cloud Computing. If you don’t want to step into cloud computing, it may affect your business and leave your business behind. Nowadays, the world’s top companies use Cloud Computing technology to grow, and you can’t ignore that fact. Don’t know much about Cloud Computing, don’t worry. At first, we will discuss cloud computing, and after that, we will discuss the types of Cloud Computing (that’s why you are here).
Cloud computing is a service that gives users data storage/cloud storage and system resources over the internet. The user gets safe and secure data storage and resources with cloud computing. The best thing about cloud computing is that you can access your data securely from any computer with internet access.
There are also many other benefits of Cloud Computing, such as:
- Reduce IT costs
- Affordable
- Scalable
- Business continuity
- Collaboration
- Flexibility
- Automatic updates
- Secure, etc.
Types of Cloud Computing
Now, we will talk about the types of Cloud Computing. There are three primary types of Cloud Computing:
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
- PaaS (Platform as a Service)
- SaaS (Software as a Service)
At first, we will compare all types of Cloud Computing. Later we will discuss each type separately.
- IaaS offers storage, networking, and virtualization, for example, AWS EC2, Rackspace, Google Compute Engine, Digital Ocean, etc.
- PaaS offers hardware and software tools over the internet, for example, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Heroku, Azure, OpenShift, Apache Stratos, Magento Commerce Cloud, etc.
- SaaS offers software via a third-party over the internet, for example, BigCommerce, Google Apps, Salesforce, Dropbox, ZenDesk, DocuSign, Slack, etc.
1/ IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
At first, we will talk about IaaS. IaaS provides on-premise infrastructure, so it cut the expenses of investing in costly on-site resources. It also offers many services over the internet, such as pay-as-you-go storage, networking, virtualization, etc. IaaS is beneficial to all types of businesses, and it fits into most budgets. IaaS is a safer and more reliable option rather than investing in expensive physical hardware and IT infrastructure. With IaaS platform and support, you have the option of scaling up your requirements at any time.
Advantages of IaaS:
- The on-site IT infrastructure maintenance is costlier as you have to invest in physical hardware. You will also need external IT contractors to maintain the hardware. IaaS helps to reduce the cost that you invest in IT infrastructure.
- Buy what you need and purchase more as your business grows.
- Highly flexible and scalable.
- Control over the infrastructure
- Quickly access and oversee IaaS platforms yourself.
Disadvantages of IaaS:
- Security – IaaS cloud computing providers are not able to provide 100% security.
- Maintenance & Upgrade – They maintain the software, but they do not upgrade some organisations’ software.
- Interoperability issues – It is difficult to migrate VM from one IaaS provider to the other, so users face vendor lock-in problems.
2/PaaS (Platform as a Service)
A PaaS offers tools (software and hardware) over the internet. Mostly, developers use PaaS, and they use these tools to develop applications. With PaaS, you don’t have to manage software updates or security patches. You only have to focus on the development, creating, and testing of the app.
Advantages of PaaS:
- Easy to run
- Build software or applications with the PaaS platform.
- Create unique, customizable software.
- Saves time and money on writing extensive code.
- Accessible by multiple users.
- Scalable
- It is built on virtualization technology.
- Cost and time-effective
Disadvantages of PaaS:
- Vendor lock-in – Issue in the migration of an app to another PaaS vendor.
- Data Privacy
- Integration with the systems apps – Some applications are local, and some are in the cloud. It creates complexity when we want to use data in the cloud with the local data.
3/ SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS platforms offer software over the internet for a monthly subscription fee. It hosts on a remote server by a third-party provider. SaaS is also scalable with different level of business for small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses. SaaS offers excellent security, compliance, and maintenance.
Advantages of SaaS:
- No need to install and run software on your device.
- Access the software from any device that has an internet connection
- Easy to download the software onto multiple computers
- Great payment structure.
Disadvantages of SaaS:
- Security – Data is stored online so that security becomes an issue for some users.
- Latency issue – Data is stored in the cloud at a variable distance, so latency also becomes an issue.
- Dependency on Internet – SaaS applications are not accessible without an internet connection.
- Switching between SaaS – Slow and challenging task of transferring the massive data files over the internet into another SaaS vendor.
Types of Cloud Deployment
When you discuss about differnet types of Cloud Computing then you should also know types of cloud deployment. There are mainly 3 types of cloud deployment, such as:
Public Cloud – For example, Amazon, Microsoft, or Google.
They offer both services and infrastructure – shared by all customers. Public clouds have massive amounts of available space and are recommended for software development and collaborative projects. The advantage of a public cloud is the “pay as you go” structure. On the other hand, the infrastructure and operating system are under the cloud provider’s complete control.
Private Cloud
In the private cloud, only authorized users can access, utilize, and store data from anywhere. The difference between private and public clouds is that no one can access or utilize those computing resources in the private cloud. Private cloud offers security and control, but you have to pay for those features.
Hybrid Cloud
It is a combination of public clouds and private clouds, and allows the two platforms to interact seamlessly. The hybrid cloud provides a public cloud’s scalable computing power with a private cloud’s security and control.
Final Thoughts On Types Of Cloud Computing…
Cloud Computing is multiplying and shifting to the cloud will only boost your business. Hope you understand the different types of cloud computing. Now it depends on your needs which one is suitable for you. Let us know in the comment box which you will choose from IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and why?