What are Cloud Services?

Cloud services are platforms, software, or infrastructure that are hosted by third-party providers and made accessible to consumers online, payable as a service. These services offer a suite of public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud solutions that meet various business requirements.  

This can include initial setting up of infrastructure, migrating and managing data, plus optimization to ensure scalability, security, and regulatory compliance.  

Key categories of cloud computing -  

1. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) - Provides basic infrastructural resources like virtual machines, storage, and networks.
2. PaaS (Platform as a Service) - It enables the developers to develop and deploy applications with no interference with the infrastructure.
3. SaaS (Software as a Service) - Provides software applications via the internet, following a subscription model.
4. XaaS (Anything/Everything as a Service) - is an umbrella term referring to services offered over the cloud besides the traditional models.
5. FaaS (Function as a Service) - A serverless computing model where an individual function/module is run by a developer in response to an event, even without having to administer the servers, thus improving efficiency and scalability.

These services don’t need businesses to own or manage physical structures, as they can be used under a pay-as-you-go model with greater flexibility and scalability. Some of the cloud service platforms include Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle, SAP and more.