If you work in a technical role chances are that you have heard the word cloud, if you have an electronic device that is connected to the internet in 2022 you probably have heard of the word cloud. There is no way of escaping it, the clouds are everywhere.
If by chance you do not fully understand what the cloud is and you want to become a cloud person there are several things you need to know about what the cloud is and what the cloud is not.
What the Cloud is not
Let's start with what the Cloud is not.(This is probably the easiest and funniest thing to remember about the cloud)
The Cloud is not ...
- science we don't understand yet.
- voodoo.
- something you can unplug ( ideally ).
- something that you can see, taste, or smell ( unless you are inside the Matrix or maybe the Metaverse ).
- a way to mind control you.
- a singular place or thing (yes there can be more than one cloud and there is).
The list of what the cloud is not could go on forever, and it would be super fun to keep going but let's stop here.
So what is the Cloud then?
Many organizations have different words and definitions to describe what the cloud is or better yet what a cloud is but in order to make it super easier to understand what the cloud is let's look at some examples that everyone and their madre (Mom in Spanish) uses.
1. Video Streaming - When you watch Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, YouTube, and any other streaming service chances are these companies are using cloud services to run their platforms. All that content has to be stored and delivered over the internet to anyone that is paying for the use of the service. I know most of you are using someone else's Netflix account, don't try to deny it.
2. Storage - Whether you are using Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, or Google Drive all that content can usually be stored locally on your device as well as online. Usually, there is some level of a free tier for storage services as well as different pricing models for those that need more storage and yes you should pay for more storage.
3. Online Gaming - If you play video games or know someone who is currently getting beat by a nine-year-old at 3:00 am every day on Fortnite, chances are those gaming services are running in a cloud. Most, if not all the major online gaming services require that you have a subscription in order to play online with other players or be able to access additional content. Depending on the gaming service you may be able to get away with a free tier but additional goodies every month usually require that you pay up.
Now that we have looked at some real-life examples, there are three things I want to highlight from these examples.
- There is a service that is being provided.
- The delivery of the service requires that you be connected to the internet or on a network.
- These services have an associated cost unless there is a free tier.
With these three things in mind let's put together a Super Simple Cloud Definition (SSCD, I just made it up).
Super Simple Cloud Definition
The cloud is a way to deliver digital services over the internet or over a network with an associated cost.
In other words, the cloud provides you a means to consume managed services like applications, computing, storage, and networking resources at a cost that you pay for depending on what you consume. Now, this is just what a cloud provides in the general sense because there are many public cloud providers such as OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure), AWS( Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, and GCP (Google Cloud Platform) that provide these types of services that you can consume to build your apps and services on top of. If you have the resources you can even build out your own private cloud to be consumed and used by your organization or yourself.
Basic Take-Aways
- The Cloud provides computing, storage, and networking services.
- There is an associated cost (please pay for Netflix)
- The Cloud can be thought of as a utility/service that you consume and you pay for what you use like electricity, water, gas, or cell phone. (Please pay your bills).
- There are many public cloud providers such as OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure), AWS( Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, GCP (Google Cloud Platform)e ..etc
- You can build and consume services such as Video Streaming, Storage, Gaming services, and many more.
In my next post, I will briefly talk about the various Cloud service models. Cloud service models typically define how things are built and consumed. If you have any questions feel free to drop me a message.
Great article, very informative.