The term cloud refers to a network or the internet. It is a technology that uses remote servers on the internet to store, manage, and access data online rather than local drives. The data can be anything such as files, images, documents, audio, video, and more.
Why Cloud Computing?
Small as well as large IT companies, follow the traditional methods to provide the IT infrastructure. That means for any IT company, we need a Server Room that is the basic need of IT companies.
In that server room, there should be a database server, mail server, networking, firewalls, routers, modem, switches, QPS (Query Per Second means how much queries or load will be handled by the server), configurable system, high net speed, and the maintenance engineers.
To establish such IT infrastructure, we need to spend lots of money. To overcome all these problems and to reduce the IT infrastructure cost, Cloud Computing comes into existence.

Characteristics of cloud computing:
1) Agility
The cloud works in a distributed computing environment. It shares resources among users and works very fast.
2) High availability and reliability
The availability of servers is high and more reliable because the chances of infrastructure failure are minimum.
3) High Scalability
Cloud offers “on-demand” provisioning of resources on a large scale, without having engineers
for peak loads.
4) Multi-Sharing
With the help of cloud computing, multiple users and applications can work more efficiently with cost reductions by sharing common infrastructure.
5) Device and Location Independence
Cloud computing enables the users to access systems using a web browser regardless of their location or what device they use e.g. PC, mobile phone, etc. As infrastructure is off-site (typically provided by a third-party) and accessed via the Internet, users can connect from anywhere.
6) Maintenance
Maintenance of cloud computing applications is easier, since they do not need to be installed on each user’s computer and can be accessed from different places. So, it reduces the cost also.
7) Low Cost
By using cloud computing, the cost will be reduced because to take the services of cloud computing, IT company need not to set its own infrastructure and pay-as-per usage of resources.
8) Services in the pay-per-use mode
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are provided to the users so that they can access services on the cloud by using these APIs and pay the charges as per the usage of services.
Applications of cloud computing:
Online Data Storage. Cloud Computing allows storage and access to data like files, images,
audio, and videos on the cloud storage
1)Backup and Recovery
2)Big Data Analysis
3)Testing and Development
4)Antivirus Applications
5)E-commerce Application
6)Cloud Computing in Education
Refrence
1)https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.simplilearn.com/appl ications-of-cloud-computing-article&ved=2ahUKEwiPxt-3xLX9AhVx7zgGHe7ODnYQFnoECBQQBQ&usg=AOvVaw3duBKUE6yFKsMbVIdsYYZL 2)https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.javatpoint.com/cloud-computing&ved=2ahUKEwi0t8_2xrX9AhUKCLcAHdEMCMQQFnoECBMQAQ&usg=AOvV aw32JsCL54aziMTQ-69oN0ev
