Today, businesses are increasingly turning to cloud computing solutions to increase their competitiveness by improving their flexibility and scalability and reducing their costs. Cloud computing enables businesses to access computing technology delivered over a dedicated network connection or as a service over the Internet. Instead of purchasing, installing and managing cloud computing technologies such as servers, databases, networks, storage, applications, etc. on-site, enterprises can access a shared pool of cloud computing resources that are offered, managed and updated by a third-party provider.
Cloud computing is a delivery model in which servers, applications, storage and more are provided over the Internet. It is typically delivered on-demand as a service on a pay-per-use basis. The "cloud" is not a physical location, but a method of managing IT resources that largely replaces private data centers and local computers. In the cloud computing model, users access virtual computing, networking and storage resources provided online by an external provider. Instead of purchasing and maintaining extensive computing, storage and other IT infrastructure, much of this responsibility is assumed by the cloud service provider.