The Cloud: More Than Just a Storage

We live in a genuinely fast-paced world, where more things need to get done, and a day just isn’t enough. But thanks to technological advancements made by brilliant, innovative companies like NCS, who come up with solutions to improve our lives, you can keep up with the demands of your work and everyday humdrum. 

One of the things you need to avail of to create ease of work and efficiency of time consumption is something called cloud as a service.

What is a Cloud

In information technology, a cloud or cloud computing is a remote location with servers serving unique functions. These functions are composed of but are not limited to data storage, spreadsheet applications, document preparation applications, etc. It is a global service accessible if you have a device such as a cellphone or a laptop and an internet connection.

Cloud As a Service

As mentioned, a cloud can contain applications for users to access on their devices from a remote server. This offers the users convenience of time since there is no installation time involved and since these services are readily available. 

Basically, it is a service because the application in the cloud does all of the work for you, so you do not have to bother taking extra time-consuming steps or spending more money on tools to achieve your goals. 

3 Types of Cloud As a Service

More specifically, there are three types of cloud as a service. There is SaaS or software as a service, IaaS or infrastructure as a service, and PaaS or platform as a service. Later on in this article, we will provide examples of these three.

The Importance of Cloud As a Service

Cloud as a service has become indispensable in our daily lives. Phone, computer, and laptop memory storage may be getting more significant, but they are no match for the ease and accessibility of storage in a cloud. 

The great thing about cloud services is that they are offered free. Imagine having to buy external hard drives when you exceed the storage limit of your phone or laptop. You do not have to keep buying larger-capacity memory cards for your phone or experience the sudden decision-making and filtering of which emails you have to erase or apps to uninstall when you need to make space for new ones. 

Another advantage of cloud services is that you do not need to carry external hard drives. Cloud storage also saves you from taking this external storage everywhere you go. Physical storage devices can also be lost or forgotten, while cloud storage can be accessed as long as you have an internet connection. 

Physical space and waste savings

If you do not use a cloud as a service, you would have to buy different tangible items you would need to purchase from a store or have delivered to you. These tangible items come in a box with literature (instructions manual, tech data, warranty card, etc.) that would take up storage. 

Unless you decide to do away with these things, you would need to find a location where to put them in your place. Items such as external storage devices will also need safekeeping as these things can be destroyed or misplaced. 

Security and ease of data retrieval

When you avail of cloud services, you have the option to save your data in the cloud itself. So if your device gets broken or stolen, you do not have to worry about losing the important data. This limits your losses to a tangible device that can be replaced anytime while your data which may be more valuable than the device itself, can be retrieved easily. You will have peace of mind and won’t have to worry about others having your data.

Though several cloud services are free, some are not. Some cloud services are limited to a certain amount of storage, like photos storage. Once you exceed the free storage amount, you would need to pay for extra storage capacity.

Examples of Cloud As a Service

Though you may not know what a cloud is, there is a chance you may be using a form of cloud service and not be aware of it. Perhaps the most famous type of cloud service is data storage. If you happen to have a Google account, you could see that on your Gmail account, you can store a practically unlimited number of emails. Before cloud services in the early years of the internet, you were only given a limited number of storage and would have to erase emails. 

Movie streaming companies offer a form of SaaS (software as a service), a type of cloud that allows you to access a list of movies and TV shows for a monthly fee. You can find movie streaming apps preinstalled on today’s smart TVs. 

If you have a business and you want to create an address for it on the world wide web, you can create a website using a PaaS (platform as a service.) You can also create your own apps by acquiring the services on websites, a form of PaaS.

Services that require storage of huge amounts of data are offered under the IaaS (infrastructure as a service.) Some companies also provide IaaS that make public and private cloud deployment easier.

Conclusion

Cloud services are convenient and essential in this high-paced world. You simply can not imagine a life without cloud services. Cloud as a service applies to any industry for any individual or company. It is undeniable that more and more people resort to acquiring the services of cloud service providers. You need to find the right cloud service provider for you.