There are three types of cloud computing according to Christopher Barnatt at Explaining Computers: SAAS (software as a service), PAAS (platform as a service), and IAAS (infrastructure as a service).
PAAS is an environment with a dashboard or control panel which allows you to manage IAAS. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Console (see video below), the Google Cloud Console, the Rackspace Cloud Console, and the Windows Azure Management Console are a few examples. Currently, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are the three leading vendors of cloud platforms and services. And SAAS is software made available by cloud services and provides functionality to the end-user.
The following video is a clear explanation of the three types of cloud computing.
Growing Market
The market for cloud services has increased from about $50 billion in 2008 to more than $125 billion in 2016. According to a study by Gartner, “a ‘cloud shift’ is occurring and will affect $1 trillion in IT spending by 2020.”
Detailed View of Amazon Web Services (AWS)
The following video explains Amazon Web Services (AWS), a type of cloud computing and one of the most widely used. IBM has its own cloud service known as PureApplication Services. TELUS has Cloud Services (IaaS).
According to Amazon AWS:
“Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of compute power, database storage, applications, and other IT resources through a cloud services platform via the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. Learn more: http://amzn.to/2hZ4KHZ
Whether you are running applications that share photos to millions of mobile users or you’re supporting the critical operations of your business, the “cloud” provides rapid access to flexible and low cost IT resources. With cloud computing, you don’t need to make large upfront investments in hardware and spend a lot of time on the heavy lifting of managing that hardware. Instead, you can provision exactly the right type and size of computing resources you need to power your newest bright idea or operate your IT department. You can access as many resources as you need, almost instantly, and only pay for what you use.”
