Cloud computing has become a pillar in the digital infrastructure, enabling organisations and individuals to access and maintain vast amounts of data and computational resources through online services rather than local or personal hardware. The services are delivered on-demand with pay-as-you-go pricing models, which can significantly reduce operating costs, improve performance, and scale as business needs change.
Cloud computing introduces a shared responsibility model where the cloud service provider is responsible for maintaining the security of the cloud infrastructure, and clients are responsible for protecting their data within the cloud. This model necessitates comprehensive security strategies encompassing access management, encryption, compliance adherence, and end-to-end security protocols.
The flexibility and scalability of cloud computing also present unique security challenges. Data stored in the cloud must be protected from unauthorized access, breaches, and other threats. As such, robust encryption methods, multi-factor authentication, access controls, activity monitoring, and secure software development are critical in safeguarding information in the cloud.
Cloud computing services generally fall into four categories: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Functions as a Service (FaaS), each offering different levels of control, flexibility, and management.
Key Characteristics:
- On-demand delivery of IT services and resources over the Internet
- Can significantly cut costs and improve organisational agility
- Encompasses a shared responsibility model for security
- Requires heightened data security and user access controls
Examples:
- Real-World Example: A startup company opts for cloud services to host its application, leveraging the scalability of cloud infrastructure to efficiently handle the fluctuating traffic without the need for significant upfront investment in physical hardware.
- Hypothetical Scenario: An advertising agency uses a cloud-based project management software (SaaS) to collaborate across globally dispersed teams, relying on the cloud provider’s robust security features to protect sensitive client data.
Related Terms:
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): Cloud computing services that offer essential compute, storage, and networking resources on-demand, typically billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.
- SaaS (Software as a Service): A distribution model in which cloud providers host applications and make them available to customers over the internet, relieving the customer from complex software and hardware management.
- Data Sovereignty: The concept that data is subject to the laws and governance structures within the nation it is collected, an important consideration for cloud computing.
- Multi-Factor Authentication: A security system that requires more than one method of authentication from independent categories of credentials to verify the user’s identity, commonly implemented in cloud services for enhanced security.
