Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand

network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g.

networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly
provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service
provider interaction

Cloud computing providers offer different kinds of services built on top of

basic provisioning and releasing of resources. Most of these services fall into
one of the following categories:

 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

 Platform as a Service (PaaS)

 Software as a Service (SaaS).

Key Features of Cloud Computing

 Speed and Agility
The required resources are just one click away, which saves time and
provides agility. We can also easily scale up or down, depending on our
need.

 Cost
It reduces the up-front cost to set up the infrastructure, and allows us
to focus on applications and business. Cloud providers have features
to estimate the cost, which helps us plan better.

 Easy Access to Resources

As users, we can access our infrastructure from any place and device,
as long as we can connect to the provider.

 Maintenance
All the maintenance work for the resources is done by the provider. As
end users, we do not have to worry about this aspect.

 Multi-tenancy
Multiple users can use the same pool of resources.
 Reliability
Resources can be hosted in different data center locations, to provide
increased reliability.