Chapter 1. What is cloud computing?
This chapter covers
- Defining the five main principles of cloud computing
- Benefiting from moving to the cloud
- How evolving IT led to cloud computing
- Discussing the different layers (types) of clouds
Cloud computing is the hottest buzzword in the IT world right now. Let’s understand why this is and what this cloud computing hype is all about. A growing consensus among cloud vendors, analysts, and users defines cloud computing at the highest level as computing services offered by a third party, available for use when needed, that can be scaled dynamically in response to changing needs. Cloud computing represents a departure from the norm of developing, operating, and managing IT systems. From the economic perspective, not only does adoption of cloud computing have the potential of providing enormous economic benefit, but it also provides much greater flexibility and agility. We’ll continue to refine and expand our definition of cloud computing as well as your understanding of its costs and benefits throughout this book.