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☁️ Cloud Computing Basics

Demystify the cloud — learn what IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS mean, and how cloud computing is changing IT.

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☁️ Cloud Fundamentals
Q1What is cloud computing?Beginner▼

Cloud computing means delivering computing services — servers, storage, databases, networking, software — over the internet ("the cloud") instead of running them on your own local hardware.

Instead of buying a server and managing it yourself, you rent computing resources from providers like Amazon (AWS), Microsoft (Azure) or Google (GCP) and pay only for what you use.

💡 When you use Google Drive, Netflix, or Gmail — you're using cloud computing. The files and processing happen on remote servers, not your device.
Q2What is the difference between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS?Intermediate▼

These are the three main cloud service models, each offering a different level of abstraction:

  • IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) — You rent raw infrastructure: virtual machines, storage, networking. You manage the OS and everything above. Examples: AWS EC2, Google Compute Engine, Azure VMs.
  • PaaS (Platform as a Service) — You get a platform to deploy your app without managing the OS or infrastructure. Examples: Heroku, Google App Engine, Azure App Service.
  • SaaS (Software as a Service) — A fully managed application you just use. No servers, no code. Examples: Gmail, Salesforce, Dropbox, Microsoft 365.
💡 Pizza analogy: IaaS = you cook (just rent the kitchen). PaaS = you design (someone else cooks). SaaS = order delivery (someone does everything).
Q3What are the main cloud providers?Beginner▼

The three dominant cloud providers are:

  • AWS (Amazon Web Services) — Market leader, most services available, global scale. Used by Netflix, Airbnb, NASA.
  • Microsoft Azure — Strong enterprise adoption, deep integration with Microsoft products (Office 365, Active Directory).
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP) — Known for data analytics, AI/ML and Kubernetes (which Google invented).

Together these three have over 65% of the cloud market.

⚠️ All three offer "free tiers" so you can experiment at no cost. AWS Free Tier, Azure Free Account and GCP Free Tier each offer 12 months of selected free services.