Understanding the 'Cloud' Like I'm 5
A few days ago, I spoke with a non-technical friend about technical terms and the jargon he may need to learn to switch careers or work efficiently in the tech industry. And while this conversation was ongoing, he asked if I could explain some technical terms to him. It was going well until he mentioned 'Cloud'. And just then, I realized I didn't know much either.
This article aims to explain to my non-technical friends and, hopefully, to you.
People often say, '*My iCloud storage is full. I need to buy more. And we both know that these people are not referring to the cloud-cloud.
Perhaps 100 years ago, when the term 'Cloud' was mentioned, we all looked up at the sky. But now? Someone could be referring to their mobile phone, PC, or a company server somewhere.
This article will explain the term 'Cloud' to you in simple terms, accompanied by an analogy. It will be very conversational. Let's get to it!
What is the Cloud?
A visible mass of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the general level of the ground.
Oh nope! Not that one.
Oh, my bad.
Wikipedia defines 'the cloud' as
a metaphor for the Internet, based on the cloud drawing used in the past to represent the telephone network, and later to depict the Internet in computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents."
Cloudflare defines it as
servers that are accessed over the Internet, as well as the software and databases that run on those servers. Cloud servers are located in data centers worldwide.
First things first, the Cloud is not in the sky as you might've thought. 😎
The Cloud is a set or network of computers interconnected and stored elsewhere (on land) to hold data. For example, when you save a photo on your mobile phone, it saves to the phone's memory. However, when you save it to Google Cloud, it keeps it on a computer somewhere, run and managed by Google.
Another example is when you download a movie online from YouTube or Telegram channels and save it to your PC's hard drive or mobile phone storage. But when you download a movie using the Netflix application, it doesn't save on your phone or PC. It saves inside the application's cloud storage, which is located on someone else's computer.
In English, please? Explain it to me like I'm 5
You remember when you had to buy CDs to play music or even buy movies in DVD formats, right? Back then, to watch a movie, you'd have to buy it. The same thing applies to listening to a song. To listen to music or watch a movie, you had to go to a store, buy a physical Cassette, CD, or DVD, come back home, slot it into the DVD player to watch a movie, or listen to the latest Rihanna song.
But now, it is different. To watch a movie, all you need to do is look it up on Netflix, Disney, Xbox, or any other video streaming service. The same thing applies to music lovers. To listen to good music, all you need to do is open your favorite music player, such as Spotify, Boomplay, Audiomack, etc., to play your favorite jam.
These companies host the movies on their servers, allowing us to watch as many as possible. Imagine having to download and own every movie or music you have. I'm not sure about you, but I’ll need a bigger house.
Many of us recall having to dust the shelves of DVDs every Saturday, and there were so many to dust and arrange. But now? You rarely buy physical CDs to watch your favorite shows. All you need to do is open Netflix and binge-watch your show like Squid Game.😉
So, it's just storing data over the Internet?
Yes! Now imagine
You had to buy a CD for every season or episode of Game of Thrones.
We still used floppy disks to store things. Imagine your shelf filled with floppy disks. 😏
Your phone memory had to hold everything, including emails, music, and movies?
Being able to save some of your data—videos, photos, projects, articles, etc. — on someone else's computer helps you focus on just a few things saved on your phone. Imagine having access to millions of songs that consume terabytes of storage, but without worrying about storage space because the data is not stored on your phone. All the music is stored on Spotify's computer somewhere in the world.
So, who manages my data in the Cloud?
Companies like
AWS
Microsoft, and
Google's Cloud
Apple
These are Cloud solution providers offering email cloud solutions, such as Gmail and Outlook. Storage cloud solutions, such as Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and AWS Cloud services.
Does the Cloud have anything to do with Cloud Computing?
Yes! I thought you'd never ask.
Cloud computing is a facet of IT (Information Technology) that manages all the software and hardware used by you. Cloud computing is a system that gives you access to services over the Internet. These services can range from external storage and databases to software and even servers.
For individuals, this can mean using cloud storage services like iCloud, Cloudinary, Amazon Cloud Drive, or Google Photos to save your pictures, so you don't use up your phone's memory.
For companies that cannot afford to build and maintain their internal infrastructure, adopting cloud computing means they may not need to update their servers, as the cloud vendor they're using will handle all of that.
The Cloud is beneficial for the current world we live in because having the resource in some server somewhere makes it possible for a team to work remotely and still access files together. For example, Google Docs allows you to collaborate and pick up from where you left off as long as you have access to the file and the Internet.
How to get started with Cloud computing?
I got you!😉 There are a couple of resources available to get started. However, this article assumes that you are five, so I will recommend beginner-friendly resources to help you get started.
Adaora just published a book- 'Cloud engineering for beginners'.
This article by JavaRevisited on Medium points you to 10 different resources to learn about Cloud computing.
Good luck!✋
In summary, the 'Cloud' enables us to access data, files, and databases from almost any device connected to the Internet.
However, as much as this seems excellent, and cloud companies put security measures in place to ensure the safety of everything entrusted to them, it is still advisable to exercise caution when sharing information.
I hope this article was able to answer your basic questions. If you have any other questions, concerns, or suggestions that you think should be addressed, please reach out by leaving a comment or sending an email to likeamfive@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @Like_iam5.
Thanks for reading!
