What is Cloud Computing?

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Cloud computing delivers IT resources (compute, storage, databases, etc.) on demand over the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. Instead of buying and maintaining physical servers and data centers, you use services provided by cloud providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).

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Why move to the Cloud? (pros & cons)

Advantages

• Scalability - grow or shrink resources quickly.
• Flexibility - many managed services and quick deployments.
• Faster time-to-market - deploy apps faster.
• Easier maintenance - provider manages infrastructure.
• Performance - global data centers, CDN, caching.
• Security & compliance options (when configured correctly).
• Access to AI/ML, analytics, managed DBs, etc.
• Potential cost savings (no large upfront hardware purchases).

Disadvantages / risks

• Dependence on Internet (latency, outages).
• Shared responsibility for security - misconfigurations can leak data.
• Data privacy and regulatory concerns (depends on provider/location).
• Vendor lock-in risk if you rely on proprietary services.