Cloud Hosting Defined

There has been a lot of ‘cloud confusion‘ out there in terms of what exactly The Cloud is.  There are also similar terms for example what is the difference between cloud hosting and cloud computing, public cloud and private cloud?

To understand cloud hosting, you must first understand cloud computing. 

Cloud computing is a form of computing where resources are provided as a service over the internet. It enables the on-demand allocation or de-allocation of the central processing unit (CPU), as well as large-scale storage and network bandwidth. 

Moreover, cloud computing can meet the scalability requirements to cater to user demands quickly; however, it does not require users to be experts on the technology that supports them. Cloud computing entails three major elements: software as a service – where applications are available on demand and on a subscription basis; utility computing – where server capacity is accessed across a grid as a variably priced and shared service; and virtualisation – where applications are separated from infrastructure.

Derived from the principles of cloud computing, cloud hosting enables the sharing and management of large amounts of distributed data, representing the ultimate in scalability for unpredictable demands. It handles security, load balancing and server resources virtually, so users are not restricted to the limits of one physical piece of hardware or server. Instead, online operations have access not only to a number of servers distributed in real time, but to the heightened processing power that comes with them.

However there are security implications for this type of ‘public cloud’ hosting, which still need to be addressed before it is perhaps ready for the mass market. What do you think, are you moving into the cloud or do you still have concerns?

Find out more about cloud hosting on our cloud clinic