CLOUD COMPUTING

Published: 14 February 2024 Contributors: Stephanie Susnjara, Ian Smalley What is cloud computing? Cloud computing is the on-demand access of computing resources—physical servers or virtual servers, data storage, networking capabilities, application development tools, software, AI-powered analytic tools and more—over the internet with pay-per-use pricing. The cloud computing model offers customers greater flexibility and scalability compared to traditional on-premises infrastructure. Cloud computing plays a pivotal role in our everyday lives, whether accessing a cloud application like Google Gmail, streaming a movie on Netflix or playing a cloud-hosted video game. Cloud computing has also become indispensable in business settings, from small startups to global enterprises. Its many business applications include enabling remote work by making data and applications accessible from anywhere, creating the framework for seamless omnichannel customer engagement and providing the vast computing power and other resources needed to take advantage of cutting-edge technologies like generative AI and quantum computing. A cloud services provider (CSP) manages cloud-based technology services hosted at a remote data center and typically makes these resources available for a pay-as-you-go or monthly subscription fee. Guide Achieve workplace flexibility with DaaS Read how Desktop as a service (DaaS) enables enterprises to achieve the same level of performance and security as deploying the applications on-premises. Related content Register for the guide on app modernization