What is cloud computing? A plain-English guide
Cloud computing explained for business owners, with the models, benefits and risks that matter.
By the Telappliant team
Cloud computing gets used as a catch-all term for anything that is not a physical server in your office. This guide sets out what it actually means, the different flavours available, and what to check before you commit.
The plain-English definition
Cloud computing means renting computing resources, storage or software over the internet from a provider's data centre, rather than buying and running the hardware yourself. When you use Microsoft 365, a cloud backup service or a hosted phone system, you are using cloud computing.
The main types
- Public cloud - shared infrastructure run by a large provider, paid for as you use it
- Private cloud - dedicated infrastructure for one organisation, on-premise or hosted
- Hybrid cloud - a mix of both, matched to different workloads
- SaaS, PaaS and IaaS - software, platforms and raw infrastructure delivered as a service respectively
Why businesses move to it
- Lower upfront cost, replacing hardware purchases with predictable subscriptions
- Access from anywhere, supporting remote and hybrid working
- Automatic updates and patching, reducing manual IT maintenance
- Resilience and backup that would be expensive to build in-house
- Scaling up or down without buying and installing new hardware
The risks worth understanding
- You depend on your internet connection, so poor connectivity undermines the benefit
- Data protection and access control remain your responsibility, not just the provider's
- Uncontrolled use of multiple cloud services can create unmanaged cost and security gaps
- Not every legacy application is suited to a straight lift into the cloud
How to start moving to cloud sensibly
Begin with what is easiest to move and lowest risk, typically email and productivity tools, then backup, then line-of-business systems as contracts and hardware age out. Confirm connectivity is adequate at every site before assuming cloud will simply work.
