Glossary
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the use of servers, storage and software hosted on the internet, accessed remotely instead of being installed and managed on your own computers and servers.
Cloud refers to the idea of using computing resources that sit somewhere else, in a provider's data centres, and reaching them over the internet. Instead of keeping programs and data on a physical server in the office, you use them through the network, just as you already do when you check email in a browser or save a file to an online storage service.
The main benefit is not having to buy and maintain hardware: the provider takes care of servers, updates and baseline security, and you pay based on how much you use. This makes it easier to start small and grow, adding resources when you need them and scaling back in quieter periods.
Cloud doesn't automatically mean more security or lower cost: it depends on how it's set up. Trusting your data to an external provider calls for deliberate choices about where it's stored, who can access it and how you get it back if needed. It remains a very common model because it takes the burden of technical infrastructure management off the company.
FAQ
It can be, but it isn't automatic. Large providers offer levels of security few companies could match on their own, yet a lot depends on how everything is configured: passwords, access permissions and backups. Security in the cloud is a shared responsibility between the provider and the company.
