What is cloud computing?

If you’ve ever saved your photos to somewhere like iCloud, Google Drive or Dropbox, or used an online email service like Gmail, Outlook or AOL, even if you don’t realize it, you’re likely familiar with the virtues of cloud computing. As consumers, we’ve grown used to the daily convenience of cloud connectivity. We stream our TV shows and music over the internet, we access a constant flow of updates over social media, and our cars deliver seamless, wireless connectivity on the road. All these capabilities are only possible because of the power of the cloud.

Cloud computing: A definition

Cloud computing is the on-demand access of computing resources such as software and storage as a service over the internet, with pay-per-use pricing. With cloud computing, businesses and consumers gain access to technology on an as-needed basis, offering flexibility, the ability to scale, and lower costs than traditional on-premises infrastructures.

How does cloud computing work?

The concept of cloud computing isn’t new. MIT Technology Review dates the term back to the 1960s but explained that it only began to take off more recently, in the mid-2000smid 2000s, when companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon used the term “cloud computing” to describe a new IT business model. At this point, people began accessing software, data and computing power over the internet instead of downloading programs onto their internal servers and desktops.

By accessing and consuming computer services in this way, users benefit from greater agility, flexibility, scalability and significant cost savings. They don’t have to cover the costs offor maintaining IT assets they don’t need all the time. And if they do want to tap into more computing resources or add new capabilities, they can scale up instantly.

Who is using cloud computing?

Research by Gartner suggests that enterprise IT spending on public cloud computing will overtake spending on traditional IT by 2025. From the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, cloud computing provided a vital lifeline for companies around the world. Cloud access allowed businesses to continue operating almost seamlessly even after corporate offices shut down. Before the widespread adoption of cloud computing, an unprecedented crisis like this would have brought business processes and productivity to a grinding halt.

Team meetings now regularly take place online through cloud-based tools. Workers can securely connect to the business network through their home broadband on their own devices and access all the information they need. And, when you contact a customer service department or contact center, you could well be speaking to a representative from their home office.

Users of all industries and sizes are increasingly using cloud computing for their core processes, too, including product lifecycle management (PLM), data backup, email, personalized health treatments and more. Legacy on-premise software typically requires costly resources to deploy and maintain, and tends not to offer the agility or innovation capabilities that companies need to compete in today’s market. Cloud-based solutions change this. Cloud computingThey help companies move products from design to manufacturing at a speed and scale previously unseen before.

What are 4 types of cloud computing?

Cloud infrastructure is available for users on private, public, hybrid and multi-cloud systems.

Private cloud

When implementing public cloud architecture, an organization uses cloud computing resources and physical infrastructure owned and operated by a third-party provider such as Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft.

Public clouds

A dedicated cloud that is owned and managed by a single organization, giving customers more control over resources and increased security over data.

Hybrid clouds

A cloud infrastructure that seamlessly integrates public and private clouds to deliver a mix of services.

Multi-clouds

When an organization utilizes two or more cloud services or applications.

Types of cloud computing services

There are three main types of cloud services to choose from: SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. Each type of cloud computing allows a different level of control and flexibility, allowing users to find the right service to fit their needs.

Software as a service (SaaS):

On-demand access to software delivered and managed via a third-party over the internet.

Platform as a service (PaaS):

On-demand access to a cloud-hosted platform delivered and managed by a third-party.

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS):

On-demand access to the entire IT infrastructure, where all physical and virtual servers, storage, networking and security is delivered and managed by a third party.

Benefits and advantages of cloud computing

There are a number of advantages and benefits of cloud computing. They include the following.

Productivity

Traditional infrastructures often require a long and tedious setup that consumes IT’s time. However, cloud computing eliminates the need to set up hardware and provides IT with more space to work toward business goals.

Scalability

Cloud computing is scalable – which means that the right amount of cloud resources are provided to organizations right when they are needed and where they are needed. Depending on the user’s needs, you can choose to scale up or down. This is in contrast to on-premise resources that are often sitting and unused during slow periods.

Cost-Effective

Cloud computing allows users to pay only for IT resources as you consume them, rather than for fixed expenses like physical servers. It also eliminates the costs of setting up hardware and the around-the-clock electricity required to keep physical assets up and running.

Global collaboration

With cloud computing, teams can work on the same project anywhere around the world. This accelerates cross-team collaboration and allows teams to feel fully connected in an online environment that can often feel isolating. Every team member, no matter where they reside, is exposed to the most up-to-date information.

Cloud computing examples

For startups, the cloud is a critical enabler for quickly getting a business off the ground, delivering access to enterprise-level IT without the upfront investment.

Cloud computing provides a single source of truth

New space startup Interstellar Lab uses the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud to connect its global team. Everyone can maintain a single source of truth as they work round the clock developing futuristic BioPods, designed to sustain life on other planets.

Cloud computing enables teams to connect around the world

Larger businesses like Bouygues Construction are benefit from putting a cloud strategy at the heart of their digital transformation journeys. Using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud lets everyone connect remotely and securely from wherever they’re working to access whatever information they need.

Explore cloud computing solutions

At Dassault Systèmes our diverse software portfolio, including CATIA, ENOVIA, DELMIA and SIMULIA is offered on the cloud via the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Our customers can buy subscriptions to take advantage of industry-specific applications covering all disciplines to enable seamless collaboration from design and engineering to simulation, production and beyond. Users benefit from the 3DEXPERIENCE platform’s powerful capabilities, safe in the knowledge they can securely access everything they need over the internet at any time on all types of devices including laptops and smartphones.

Unified within a single, connected environment, all stakeholders can work together, at any time and in any place, benefiting from full visibility of every stage of the product development lifecycle, encouraging greater collaboration and innovation. Now, it seems the benefits of starting your cloud adoption journey far outweigh any concerns that have previously held businesses back

Rebecca Lambert
Rebecca Lambert is a skilled content creator and journalist based in the UK. Since she was a young girl, Rebecca has been captivating readers with her words, covering virtually any and every subject matter.

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