Introduction

The breakthrough in technological innovations is probably one of the major milestones recorded in the 20th century. Decades ago, larger less efficient mainframe computer systems which were expensive to maintain and rare to find were in vogue but currently, everyone seems to be talking about cloud computing. Over the years, some major industries experienced massive growth, resulting in increased users and therefore an increased need to further expand their operations to cater for these users. The physical server option had quite a lot of deficiencies thereby prompting the popularization of Cloud computing and its related operations in our world today. But what is cloud computing and what benefits does it have in today's world?
Cloud computing can be explained as a virtual-based technology which involves data storage and computation over the internet without direct active physical management by the user. It entails the use of servers, software and database management systems over the Internet.

This article aims to serve as a guide to beginners interested in the field of Cloud development and networking. Details regarding various models and implementations of cloud computing will be discussed. Also, its benefits and associated risks will be highlighted. As a bonus, tools which you can use to become a high-demand cloud developer will also be introduced here. Now, let's begin.

Brief Roadmap into Cloud Computing

Just as described earlier, cloud computing works by providing easy access to cloud services and data over the internet to the user's devices. It works via the User Device => Server => Database. The server coordinates the requests made from the individual's devices and then through its connectivity, retrieves the relevant information from the database. This system also involves the use of automation tools which eliminates the need for a response from a physical staff to generate the needed resources and reduce server request loads efficiently.

Models of Cloud computing services

Cloud computing in its entirety is complex and largely comprehensive and cuts across several use cases. However, for ease of learning, most cloud computing platforms can be grouped into 3 major categories. These include;

Infrastructure –As-A-Service

This category entails the provision of all Computing services options which range from and not limited to Virtual Servers, Virtual operating systems, Storage options and application programming interfaces. However in this model, the user is expected to perform hardcore operations to ensure the user’s server gets powered up on the cloud. Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and IBM Cloud are popular examples in this category.

Platform-As-A-Service

This category provides a platform to allow for virtual software creation through the use of its development tools and its associated features. In this model of cloud computing, the user is only tasked with the code creation aspect while the cloud service provider is tasked with the responsibility of maintaining the software development platform and the site infrastructure. This model also provides web hosting services for this software. Google App Engine, Heroku, and Salesforce are key leaders in this category

Software-As-A-Service

This category entails the cloud platform providers providing software applications over the Internet alongside the necessary infrastructure to maintain it. This is usually termed web services. Internet users can easily access this software not regarding geographical location and device used. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are a great example of this category.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing due to its massive influx of users and its worldwide adoption seems to have some benefits. What are the benefits it offers to its users?

Cost-effectiveness: Cloud computing technology has been proven to be highly cost-effective, providing easy access to software services and eliminating the need for maintenance of physical server costs and other physical miscellaneous expenses. With most services offering a Pay-as-you-go model of payment, Users are only required to pay for the services they use without having to be billed for services not utilized. All these contribute to maximizing profits and minimizing losses.

Enhanced storage capability: Physical Database Management is quite limited and often demands continual upgrading which isn’t cost-friendly. In great contrast, Cloud Computing has in recent times been the best alternative to storing data. With so many web platforms offering cheap data storage options, problems regarding storage backup in recent times have been widely eliminated.

Data Mobility: Compared to building physical data storage centers and physical servers for your application, the cloud helps you to easily set this up for a less expensive cost and also achieve an equal or even higher level of efficiency. Its comparative advantage lies in the fact that the data stored in cloud is easily mobile and can be accessed at anytime anywhere around the world with reduced latency speed compared to the use of physical servers. Also, in case of natural or man-made disasters, cloud operations are more immune compared to their physical counterpart as it has additional data duplication features that help minimize data losses.

Efficient data processing: With features such as load balancing, scaling optimization and availability zones, the Cloud as a whole ensures the overall efficiency of your hosted application. The scaling optimization allows it to automatically detect increased or decreased site activity and adjust appropriately automatically In response to the activity to ensure and facilitate the efficiency of site usage and data processing.

Risks Seen in Cloud Computing

Hacking concerns: As safe as the cloud seems, there also seem to be concerns about the efficiency of the security the cloud platforms provide especially in the new wave of data breaches and data losses of recent. Hence, some people are still wary of entrusting the storage of sensitive data to a 3rd party. However, most cloud platforms have an efficient cloud security system in place to avoid this.

Technical expertise: Cloud development is a relatively new field with a thousand different tools to learn across several niches and use cases. Quite not unusual, the cloud market is quite unsaturated as there are fewer certified cloud experts compared to other fields thereby putting them in high demand. Hence getting a cloud developer can be quite cumbersome.

Implementing Cloud Computing

The world is ever evolving and applications that would remain relevant would have to adjust to the current realities or risk of being phased out.

Having exhausted the pros and cons of Cloud development, how do we go about implementing cloud computing in our application development? The process of implantation entails proper planning and brainstorming. Not all applications however do need cloud computing but for those that may need it, adequate research on platforms that best fit your company operation, have favorable economics of scale and have a good ease of usage should be considered.
Also, the choice of the cloud model should be made depending on the features the user wants and the level of user expertise.
Developing a long-term plan for cloud usage is also essential to ensure sustainability and guarantee efficiency. Lastly, periodic upgrades and improvements to ensure optimal cloud security and monitor efficiency should be carried out.

Top Cloud Computing Providers

Here are some of the popular cloud computing service providers available worldwide.
• Amazon Web Services
• Microsoft Azure
• Google Cloud Platform
• Alibaba Cloud
• Oracle cloud infrastructure and many more.

Quite a lot offers certification examinations and training programs which you as a beginner can take advantage of in your journey to cloud development.

Conclusion

With this, we have come to the end of this article. I hope you’ve learnt about the nitty-gritty of Cloud computing and its benefits to you as a developer.
Feel free to drop comments and questions and also check out my other articles here. Till next time, keep on coding!