Misconceptions about Cloud Computing?

What is cloud computing?

Hmm...

Well, the first thought that comes to our mind when we hear this question is "Storage". Here is where this misbelief or half truth has made the majority of the population apprehensive about exploring what has completely changed the IT industry and how easy it has become for start-ups to manage their company.

Now, imagine you purchased a 1TB hard drive few days back for some personal use but now you have no use of it. Now, if try to sell it, you won't get the sum you spent on buying that. So, the situation becomes neither you are using it nor you can sell it as that won't be a smart thing to do.

You know what would be the smartest thing to do in this case? Rent it.
Instead of letting the drive to lie around non-functional, you can rent it to people who need it just the way you needed(i.e for some specific work and do not require after that work is complete). This way both the parties would be benefited to the fullest- one paying for only what he uses(might be charged on hourly basis or on storage basis) and the other getting paid some amount instead of just keeping the drive unused and of no benefit(and eventually making more money than spent by renting to others too).

This can be thought of as the basic analogy of creating a virtual machine in various cloud platforms(AWS, GCP, Azure etc)- a whole new machine with which you can do everything that you do with your own computer but from anywhere. Isn't that cool! These enterprise cloud service providers have big data centres which they also use to rent machines to anyone who requires it and charging them only for what they use. This way we are freed from the burden of maintaining our own data centres(this is already managed by the cloud providers) and we simply can focus on our business or development work rather then spending more time on setting up and maintaining the work environment. So, this whole play revolves around the "on-demand" theme i.e create or ask for when you need it, use it and then return it back.

Cloud computing & services has made it possible for entrepreneur's to make their dream turn into reality without much trouble.

Do not confuse CLOUD with BIG DATA.

Big data can be considered as one of the many things that cloud computing is capable of but it is not restricted only to data storage. Cloud is quickly replacing traditional computing. It basically represents the Internet. Cloud Computing is the use of hardware and software to deliver a service over a network (typically the Internet). You probably use it already. So if you use email, online banking or social media, you’re already using the cloud.

So, when people say "I don't know what cloud is", they are probably just unware of it.

Cloud provides various services:

1. SAAS(Software as a Service)
2. PAAS(Platform as a Service)
3. IAAS(Infrastructure as a Service)

By now it should clear that we could literally do anything with the help of these services with just few a clicks. We are surrounded with

Now, after seeing all this amazing stuff, you might be wondering how much is it going to cost you to make use of the above services?

Well, I am trying to point to another misconception that people have is that Cloud Computing is expensive.
Fun Fact: Cloud services can save you money and increase ROI(Return on investment).
With the cloud, you don’t have to buy or install any bulky equipment, which removes the need for up-front capital expenditure (capex). Security, power, cooling, maintenance and hardware refresh costs are also taken care of. According to the International Data Corporation, almost every organisation that uses cloud services ends up saving money.

One more concern that eat people's head is that they think they will loose control over their own data and company if they switch to cloud computing.
truth: You’ll get more control as it’s available any time, from anywhere in the world.
People think they may not be able to access their data as they can't see where their data is being stored. Not true. Cloud providers help to provide you with the facility to access and control your data from anywhere in the world while being spared the hassle of maintaining it.

Myth- Cloud is only meant for use by technical people.
truth:User-friendly dashboards and informative, graphic-rich reporting are some typical cloud features that offer even the most technically challenged user opportunities to simplify complex information and processes.

At last, some fun exercise for you all:
What is Cloud Computing replacing?
A. Corporate data centers
B. Expensive personal computer hardware
C. Expensive software upgrades
D. All of the above

Please do let me know what you think would the right answer to this and also share what else you would like to read about.