SEARCH (ENTER TO SEE ALL RESULTS)
Cancel Search
POPULAR TOPICS
Contributed
sponsored-post-contributed
News
Analysis
The New Stack Makers
Tutorial
Podcast
Feature
Research
Profile
The New Stack Logo
Skip to content
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Ebooks
    • DevOps
    • DevSecOps
    • Docker Ecosystem
    • Kubernetes Ecosystem
    • Microservices
    • Observability
    • Security
    • Serverless
    • Storage
    • All Ebooks
  • Newsletter
  • Sponsorship
  • • • •
    • Podcasts
      • TNS @Scale Series
      • TNS Analysts Round Table
      • TNS Context Weekly News
      • TNS Makers Interviews
      • All Podcasts
    • Events
    • Ebooks
      • DevOps
      • DevSecOps
      • Docker Ecosystem
      • Kubernetes Ecosystem
      • Microservices
      • Observability
      • Security
      • Serverless
      • Storage
      • All Ebooks
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsorship
Skip to content
  • Architecture
    • Cloud Native
    • Containers
    • Edge/IoT
    • Microservices
    • Networking
    • Serverless
    • Storage
  • Development
    • Development
    • Cloud Services
    • Data
    • Machine Learning
    • Security
  • Operations
    • CI/CD
    • Culture
    • DevOps
    • Kubernetes
    • Monitoring
    • Service Mesh
    • Tools
Search The New Stack
 

Cloud Services

▾ 5 MINUTE READ — CLOSE

There are multiple providers offering cloud services and solutions in different industries.

Leading cloud computing vendors include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, the Google Cloud Platform, Alibaba, IBM Cloud, DigitalOcean, Packet, and the Oracle Cloud. These providers offer a wide range of computing, storage, messaging, processing, and other cloud services, all consumed on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Types of Cloud Platforms
Cloud computing refers to services run and accessed over the internet. There are different types of cloud platforms, created with a mix of technologies that enable cloud computing. These offerings might differ in terms of location, ownership, and use, among many other factors.

Here are the four different types of clouds:
Public Cloud
These are clouds created from infrastructure that is not owned by the end-user. Traditionally, public clouds ran off-premises, but recent public clouds offer cloud services on clients’ premises.
Private Cloud
These cloud environments are created for a given group of users, usually running within the users’ firewall.
Hybrid Cloud
This cloud combines public and private clouds connected through a specified network.
Multicloud
This is a cloud approach that includes multiple cloud vendors and services. While all hybrid clouds are multiclouds, not all multiclouds are hybrid clouds.
What Are Cloud Services?
Cloud services are web-based services that allow organizations to control and monitor their data by using scalable, reliable, virtual resources. Cloud services have been divided into three major categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Are Cloud-Native and Cloud-Based Software the Same?
Although both have many similarities, cloud-native and cloud-based software are different.

Cloud-native software is architected in the cloud and built to run in public clouds like Azure, AWS, and other cloud technologies. Cloud-native applications are flexible and backed by microservices architecture, enabling parts of an app to be upgraded without total disruption.

Cloud-based software is architected in traditional servers but is moved to a cloud provider so that its local components can work with cloud structures. Cloud-based software leverages the scalability and availability of cloud-native applications. When applications are transferred to a cloud provider, organizations are no longer responsible for managing the resources needed to run the application. This feature eliminates the need to maintain servers and manage backups.

Cloud Service Types
Cloud services are generally divided into three categories:
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
IaaS is one of the first cloud computing services that comprise security tools, networking, storage, and computing. IaaS tools allow organizations to manage and configure software while maintaining maximum hardware and software stack control.

IaaS providers create the infrastructure, and companies provide the remaining tools needed for their internal networks. With these infrastructure services, organizations can reduce the cost of capital needed to create their internal infrastructure. Infrastructure-as-a-service examples include Rackspace, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Compute Engine (GCE).
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
PaaS is a development environment in the cloud that provides resources for delivering operating systems through the web without requiring installation or constant downloads.

Platforms-as-a-service solutions maintain the basic infrastructure of many IaaS tools. It also has development tools, database management systems, middleware, and operating systems needed to build software applications. PaaS is best suited for companies that develop software and web applications, as it allows developers to access development tools when needed without buying them directly. PaaS solutions include Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine, and Apache Stratos.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
SaaS is an advanced software solution that comes in web-based software applications. The cloud provider maintains the operating system, middleware, data, and infrastructure needed to run the software in specific SaaS solutions. The provider also ensures that the software application is available when needed.

Software-as-a-service solutions are best suited to users who want to avoid overhead costs as there is no significant capital required for use. Many SaaS offerings come in the form of subscriptions or installment payments. Some SaaS examples are LaunchDarkly, Mirantis, Aqua Security, and Salesforce.
Benefits of Cloud Technologies
Cloud technology, also known as cloud computing, uses networks to access digital resources stored on the cloud. Cloud technologies allow organizations to scale up and down when needed.

Here are some benefits of cloud technologies:

Storage. Cloud storage is not limited in capacity like some physical devices may be. Cloud storage is unlimited and accessible to everyone who can afford it.
Collaboration. Cloud computing enhances communication and resource sharing between team members in remote locations. This capability has been invaluable since remote and hybrid work became prominent.
Affordability. Many cloud technologies allow organizations that cannot afford the overhead costs — or initial capital required to build internal technologies — to access vital technologies on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Recovery. Cloud technologies allow organizations to develop disaster recovery solutions and implement backups swiftly.

Challenges Surrounding Cloud Solution Services
Cloud-based services are applications or software that provide information technology (IT) as-a-service over a specified network or the internet. Delivery of cloud-based services is on-demand, and users make payments based on usage.

Cloud services have numerous capabilities that have improved software development, deployment, and service delivery, to name a few. But they have drawbacks, too.

Here are some challenges associated with cloud-based platforms:

Lock-in. An organization may get too dependent on a set of services from a single provider, making it challenging to move operations to another cloud if they find the current provider no longer suitable.
Cost. Cloud computing often saves businesses money. Still, the scalable features and on-demand use of cloud-based platforms make it difficult to anticipate cloud software costs, which may be very expensive.
Compliance. As industry standards and policies are updated, organizations that use cloud storage and backups often face compliance issues whenever they want to move data from their internal storage to the cloud.

Find the Latest News on Cloud Computing at The New Stack
At The New Stack, we keep track of the wealth of technologies, tools, and services that will help organizations make the most of their cloud services. Here is also the place to find out the best practices on setting up hybrid clouds, resilient and secure multicloud systems, and other cloud platforms.

Specifically, we explore issues such as costing, cloud migration, cross-cloud Kubernetes support, application deployment, cloud application performance, and monitoring. Learn more about these concepts in the cloud services category.


The New Stack Newsletter Sign-Up
A newsletter digest of the week’s most important stories & analyses.
Do you also want to be notified of the following?
We don’t sell or share your email. By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Cloud Services / Microservices / Contributed
Case Study: How Roadside Assistance Company Agero Elastically Scaled into the Cloud
20 Sep 2019 10:00am, by Bernie Gracy and George Horvat
Cloud Services / Culture / Contributed
How to Manage Managing Multicloud
17 Sep 2019 1:48pm, by Michael Bushong
Cloud Services / Kubernetes
Google Cloud Expands Its Managed Kubernetes Service Anthos with Serverless, Service Mesh
16 Sep 2019 4:06pm, by Joab Jackson
Cloud Services / Data Science
Oracle Cloud Offers an Unlimited Autonomous Database and More with a New Free Tier
16 Sep 2019 4:00pm, by Mike Melanson
Cloud Services / Networking / Service Mesh / Sponsored
HashiCorp Consul Service on Azure: the First Fully Managed Service Mesh
10 Sep 2019 5:11pm, by Joab Jackson
Cloud Services / Kubernetes
How Google Turned Kubernetes into a Control Plane to Manage GCP Resources
30 Aug 2019 8:30am, by Janakiram MSV
Cloud Services / Technology
VMware’s Project Pacific Integrates vSphere with Kubernetes
26 Aug 2019 4:13pm, by Joab Jackson
Cloud Services / Kubernetes
VMware Acquires Pivotal Software for More Kubernetes Prowess
23 Aug 2019 1:16pm, by Jack Wallen
Cloud Services / Observability / Serverless / Sponsored / Contributed
How to Avoid Cost Pitfalls by Monitoring APIs in AWS Lambda
23 Aug 2019 12:32pm, by Mikhail Shilkov
Cloud Services / Data Science / Kubernetes
Tutorial: Use Google Config Connector to Manage a GCP Cloud SQL Database
23 Aug 2019 9:51am, by Janakiram MSV
Cloud Services / Storage / Sponsored / Contributed
The Power of Data Fabric in a Hybrid Multicloud World
19 Aug 2019 10:58am, by Anthony Lye
Cloud Services
Google Traffic Director and the L7 Internal Load Balancer Intermingles Cloud Native and Legacy Workloads
19 Aug 2019 3:00am, by Mike Melanson
Cloud Services / Observability / Sponsored / Contributed
The Powerful Force Shaping the Modern Enterprise
14 Aug 2019 10:18am, by John-Daniel Trask
Cloud Services / Observability / Contributed
How to Make Sure the Next Cloud Outage Isn’t the End of Your Business
14 Aug 2019 8:00am, by James Burns
Cloud Services / Machine Learning / Technology
Unravel Data Adds AI to Prevent Cloud-Migration Cost Hangovers
12 Aug 2019 6:00am, by Susan Hall
Cloud Services / DevOps / Sponsored / Contributed
How Toyota Drove Agile Load Testing to the Cloud
9 Aug 2019 10:16am, by Kevin Dunne
Cloud Native Ecosystem / Cloud Services / Sponsored / Contributed
Why Open Source Freedom Leads Technology Adoption In the Enterprise
9 Aug 2019 3:01am, by Chip Childers
CI/CD / Cloud Services / Software Development
GitHub Expands into Continuous Integration and Deployment
8 Aug 2019 10:10am, by Mike Melanson
Cloud Native Ecosystem / Cloud Services / Sponsored / Contributed
The Cloud Native Equation: The Hidden Force Behind Swift App Development
7 Aug 2019 12:00pm, by Robert Shimp
Cloud Services / Serverless / Tools
Stackery CloudLocal Brings Lambda Debugging to the Laptop
1 Aug 2019 9:34am, by Mike Melanson
Cloud Services / Security
Capital One’s Cloud Misconfiguration Woes Have Been an Industry-Wide Fear
30 Jul 2019 1:13pm, by Lawrence E Hecht
Cloud Services / Security / Contributed
Taking Advantage of the Public Cloud without Compromising Security
30 Jul 2019 6:00am, by Lior Cohen
https://cdn.thenewstack.io/media/2016/01/PodcastBrandingOverlay_TNS_Makers.svg
Cloud Native Ecosystem / Cloud Services / Sponsored
Cloud Foundry Sees Exciting Challenges in China
29 Jul 2019 5:00pm, by B. Cameron Gain
Cloud Services / Kubernetes
Juniper Networks Adds Multicloud Kubernetes Support for Its Juke Container Platform
17 Jul 2019 11:50am, by Mike Melanson
Cloud Services / Data Science / Networking
AWS Debuts an Event Bus, Programmable Infrastructure Support
11 Jul 2019 12:47pm, by Joab Jackson
Cloud Services
Best of Breed or Platform First? Microsoft Teams Gains on Slack
11 Jul 2019 6:00am, by Lawrence E Hecht
Pagination Previous Button
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Pagination Next Button
Architecture
  • Cloud Native
  • Containers
  • Edge/IoT
  • Microservices
  • Networking
  • Serverless
  • Storage
Development
  • Cloud Services
  • Data
  • Development
  • Machine Learning
  • Security
Operations
  • CI/CD
  • Culture
  • DevOps
  • Kubernetes
  • Monitoring
  • Service Mesh
  • Tools
The New Stack
  • Ebooks
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • About / Contact
  • Sponsors
  • Sponsorship
  • Disclosures
  • Contributions

© 2022 The New Stack. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy. Terms of Use.