We often hear about how companies are moving to the “cloud” or services are now on the “cloud”. Explaining cloud services at times can be tricky. Here’s an overview of cloud services.

Cloud services refer to delivering computing resources such as servers, storage, databases, software, and networking over the internet. These resources are provided by cloud service providers who maintain and manage the underlying infrastructure required to deliver these services. When a user subscribes to a cloud service, they typically access it through a web-based interface or API provided by the cloud service provider. Users can then provision and configure the computing resources they need, such as virtual machines, storage, and databases, to support their application or workload.

The cloud service provider then provisions and allocates the necessary computing resources from their pool of available resources, which may span multiple data centers in different geographic regions. These resources are then made available to the user through a virtualized environment that provides the illusion of dedicated resources. The user can then access and use the allocated resources as needed, scaling up or down based on their changing needs.

This flexibility and scalability are some of the key benefits of cloud services, as users can quickly and easily provision additional resources without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. The cloud service provider also handles the maintenance and management of the underlying infrastructure, including hardware maintenance, software updates, and security patching. This lets users focus on their core business activities rather than worrying about infrastructure management.

Overall, cloud services provide a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective way for users to access the computing resources they need without having to invest in and manage their infrastructure.