The Cloud and computers collided, connecting a computer to every other computer over the internet creating a whole new model of computing.

So what exactly is cloud computing?

Just like the story of the six blind men and the elephant, everyone has a different perspective of cloud computing. For a person who uses dropbox, for them cloud computing is storage media. For someone who uses Gmail, for them cloud computing is an e-mail. But Cloud, in reality is lots and lots of technologies, architectures combined together. It gives lots and lots of different ways for accomplishing tasks and getting solutions.
The goal of cloud computing is to allow users to benefit from all of the existing technologies, without the need for deep knowledge about or expertise with each one of them. The cloud aims to cut costs, and helps the users focus on their core business instead of being impeded by IT obstacles.

So how does it work?

Cloud computing primarily comprises of three different services

To understand this, let us take an example. Suppose you wanted to make a cake and were provided with all the required materials (eggs, milk, etc.) that is, you were provided with the Infrastructure (IaaS). All you need to now worry about is how to make the cake (Paas). And if you were directly given a cake....

Sorry, got distracted there. (I love cake, do you?) Where were we? Oh, if you were directly given a cake then that becomes your SaaS.

Let us talk about these services a little more...

SaaS

Even if you’ve never heard the term software as a service (SaaS) before, you know what it is already. You’re using it right now, and I’d wager that you have at least a couple of other software as a service programs open in another tab (or another window). It’s everything from Google search to Facebook.

What makes these SaaS?

They’re all cloud applications, which means that most of the storage and processing takes place on computers, called servers, owned by Google, Facebook, IBM etc. Then, when you connect to them, you use a fairly simple and common client (often a web browser) to access the service and interact with it. It often doesn’t matter if that browser is on a PC, a Mac, iPhone, Pebble smartwatch or any other kind of computer; SaaS makes the same cloud-based services available on a multitude of devices.

What makes SaaS so great?

It seems simple enough: do most of the application’s work in the cloud, then provide access through a web browser or thin client and you’ve got SaaS. So what makes SaaS powerful? Well, if you use YouTube or Craigslist, you already know. When everything is stored and processed on the cloud, thousands (or even millions) of people can interact with the same bit of information at once.