Cloud computing types are service deployment models that let you choose the level of control over your information and types of services you need to provide. There are three main types of cloud computing services, sometimes called the cloud computing stack because they build on top of one another.
The first cloud computing type is infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), which is used for Internet-based access to storage and computing power. The most basic category of cloud computing types, IaaS lets you rent IT infrastructure - servers and virtual machines, storage, networks, and operating systems - from a cloud provider on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The second cloud computing type is platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that gives developers the tools to build and host web applications. PaaS is designed to give users access to the components they require to quickly develop and operate web or mobile applications over the Internet, without worrying about setting up or managing the underlying infrastructure of servers, storage, networks, and databases.
The third cloud computing type is software-as-a-service (SaaS) which is used for web-based applications. SaaS is a method for delivering software applications over the Internet where cloud providers host and manage the software applications making it easier to have the same application on all of your devices at once by accessing it in the cloud.
Tools that extract data from business systems and integrate it into a repository, such as a data warehouse, where it can be analyzed. Analytics tools range from spreadsheets with statistical functions to sophisticated data mining and predictive modeling tools.
business intelligence (BI) tools
Tools that process large amounts of unstructured data in books, journals, documents, health records, images, files, email, video, and so forth, to help you discover meaningful trends and identify new business opportunities.
cloud
A metaphor for a global network, first used in reference to the telephone network and now commonly used to represent the Internet.
cloud bursting
A configuration that’s set up between a private cloud and a public cloud. If 100 percent of the resource capacity in a private cloud is used, then overflow traffic is directed to the public cloud using cloud bursting.
cloud computing
A delivery model for computing resources in which various servers, applications, data, and other resources are integrated and provided as a service over the Internet. Resources are often virtualized.
cloud computing types
There are three main cloud computing types, with additional ones evolving—software-as-a-service (SaaS) for web-based applications, infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) for Internet-based access to storage and computing power, and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that gives developers the tools to build and host Web applications.
cloud service provider
A company that provides a cloud-based platform, infrastructure, application, or storage services, usually for a fee.
cloud storage
A service that lets you store data by transferring it over the Internet or another network to an offsite storage system maintained by a third party.
computer grids
Groups of networked computers that act together to perform large tasks, such as analyzing huge sets of data and weather modeling. Cloud computing lets you assemble and use vast computer grids for specific time periods and purposes, paying only for your usage, and saving the time and expense of purchasing and deploying the necessary resources yourself.
elastic computing
hybrid cloud
A cloud that combines public and private clouds, bound together by technology that allows data and applications to be shared between them. A hybrid cloud gives businesses greater flexibility to scale up and down and offers more deployment options.
infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
A virtualized computer environment delivered as a service over the Internet by a provider. Infrastructure can include servers, network equipment, and software. Also called hardware as a service (HaaS).
Microsoft Azure
The Microsoft cloud platform, a growing collection of integrated services, including infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) offerings.
middleware
Software that lies between an operating system and the applications running on it. It enables communication and data management for distributed applications, like cloud-based applications, so, for example, the data in one database can be accessed through another database. Examples of middleware are web servers, application servers, and content management systems.
platform as a service (PaaS)
A computing platform (operating system and other services) delivered as a service over the Internet by a provider. An example is an application development environment that you can subscribe to and use immediately. Azure offers PaaS.
private cloud
Services offered over the Internet or over a private internal network to only select users, not the general public
public cloud
Services offered over the public Internet and available to anyone who wants to purchase them.
software as a service (SaaS)
An application delivered over the Internet by a provider. Also called a hosted application. The application doesn’t have to be purchased, installed, or run on users’ computers. SaaS providers were previously referred to as ASPs (application service providers).
serverless computing
A computing model in which the cloud provider provisions and manages servers. It enables developers to spend more time building apps and less time managing infrastructure.
virtual machine
A computer file (typically called an image) that behaves like an actual computer. Multiple virtual machines can run simultaneously on the same physical computer.
virtualization
The act of creating a virtual rather than a physical version of a computing environment, including computer hardware, operating system, storage devices, and so forth.
Re-posted from azure.microsoft.com.
