What is a Cloud Platform?
A cloud platform hosts computing services and delivers them to users through the internet. It offers services like:
- Analytics
- Software
- Intelligence
- Databases
- Servers
- Networking
- Storage
Unlike an on-premise system, which stores everything on servers in your facility, cloud platforms bring you innovative features faster, offer flexibility and help you save money. You don't own the infrastructure or data centers with a cloud system. The cloud service provider owns and maintains these things, and you are essentially renting access to their resources. With cloud computing, you only pay for what you use, so you can plan for these set operational costs in your budget.
You can use cloud services to:
- Create applications based in the cloud (or "cloud native")
- Test and build your applications
- Analyze data to make informed decisions
- Store, save and recover data for security
- Embed intelligence to get insights on your customers
- Deliver software on-demand, so you have the latest version wherever you are
- Stream audio and video wherever you are
There are three methods of deployment for cloud services — public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. The services offered within these clouds are classified into four categories:
- Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
- Platform as a service (PaaS)
- Serverless computing
- Software as a service (SaaS)