What is Cloud Hosting?

Es­sen­tial­ly there are two ways to approach using the cloud. One method entails the use of streaming or external storage services such as Amazon Prime or Dropbox. With these options, the client purchases access to either external storage space or pre-stored data such as music or TV. In this scenario, the customer is not directly involved in the hosting process. A different scenario, however, arises when the customer wishes to directly employ the use of cloud hosting services. In this case, the provider supplies the client with a cloud server that can then be cus­tomized to suit the in­di­vid­ual IT demands of the customer. When used in this way, it does not matter if the cloud is being used to host a website or an online shop. The server can also be used for ad­min­is­tra­tion needs or for the shared use of various ap­pli­ca­tions.

The strength of the cloud hosting lies it its ability to function in­de­pen­dent­ly of hardware. In contrast to tra­di­tion­al forms of hosting, computer processes in the cloud can be filtered through central software and directed towards ap­pro­pri­ate hardware. When faced with technical problems, hardware and other equipment can be com­fort­ably replaced without having to worry about problems with servers or websites.

Despite being wireless, cloud hosting services are not com­plete­ly immune to run-ins with technical problems. What cloud hosting does offer, however, is the ability on the part of the user to redefine the use of the desired per­for­mance without having to com­plete­ly exchange a server. At their own dis­cre­tion, users are able to scale down pro­cess­ing power as well as work and hard drive storage. Usage fees follow a pay-as-you-go system and are cal­cu­lat­ed based on use measured by the second, minute, or hour.

It is precisely this pay-as-you go feature that makes using the cloud so af­ford­able and cost-effective, and unlike almost any other available server solution. This flex­i­bil­i­ty can save on cost by elim­i­nat­ing the need to purchase a larger server; usage capacity can be increased as needed. Operators of online stores for seasonal goods, such as winter clothing, do not need to worry about payment during the spring and summer months. In times of low business activity, desired services can simply be scaled back, thus keeping expenses to a minimum.

When searching for different options for cloud hosting, one is bound to run into the term ‘cloud computing’. Put simply, cloud hosting is a subset of a broader field that is most commonly referred to as ‘cloud computing’. The options that cloud computing offers extend wide beyond those of a typical server. So what exactly is cloud computing? What are its ad­van­tages?

Some of the key dif­fer­ences of the various service models for cloud computing are laid out here:

1. In­fra­struc­ture as a service (IaaS): Through the cloud, the user is given access to virtual hardware resources such as computers, networks, or storage space. The supplied software can be used as desired. In­stal­la­tion and main­te­nance, however, remains the re­spon­si­bil­i­ty of the customer.
2. Platform as a Service (Paas): The service provider supplies the user with a software en­vi­ron­ment in the form of a framework (a form of virtual scaf­fold­ing of sorts) and proceeds to provide main­te­nance for this structure. The user can develop and carry out their own ap­pli­ca­tions on this platform.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS): This is often con­sid­ered to be the “top level” of cloud computing. The user is able to access a provided software, such as Office ap­pli­ca­tions, and is spared the burden of having deal with updates and func­tion­al­i­ty issues.

When assessing the safety of stored data in the cloud, there are two important aspects to take into account: the location of the server and the location of the con­tract­ed service provider’s legal head­quar­ters. Servers of cloud service providers fall under the same legal ju­ris­dic­tion of the country in which they are reg­is­tered. This means that companies that are reg­is­tered in the United States, for example, are beholden to the American legal system, even if the actual server is located in Europe.  This is important because much regional variation exists among clouds services. For instance, American data pro­tec­tion laws are generally con­sid­ered to be less stringent than those in Germany. In order to provide the maximum security for their data, potential customers should carefully look into important legal matters before deciding to enter into a contract with a provider. For this reason, IONOS allows the customer to freely choose between different locations for their data centers (Germany, Europe, USA).

While the threat of security breaches should not be ignored when con­sid­er­ing the use of cloud hosting services, other, more tra­di­tion­al servers, can also be lacking on this front. The ad­van­tages of cloud computing are numerous, and con­sid­er­ing that cloud servers are most often operated through the internet, access to data is the­o­ret­i­cal­ly possible almost anywhere in the world. Whether commuting by rail or just waiting at the airport, users have the flex­i­bil­i­ty to choose between working on company projects or just streaming music and videos when on the go. No matter what the purpose for your storage may be, data is always main­tained according to the highest industry standards; internet access remains the only pre­req­ui­site for use. Should the need of extra ap­pli­ca­tions, computing capacity, or storage arise, these ad­di­tion­al demands can be met simply by con­tact­ing the provider.

Cloud servers are tailored to specific hardware and hence carry with them a low risk of breakdown. For this reason they are par­tic­u­lar­ly well suited for hosting websites or online stores that rely on high volumes of traffic to suit their numerous clientele. The greatest advantage cloud hosting offers, however, is its unique pricing model.
Unlike typical service solutions, users do not have to fret about fixed monthly rates, and instead are afforded the benefit of only having to pay the true amount of data they have used.