Cloud computing

Terms related to cloud computing, including definitions about on-demand, distributed computing and words and phrases about software-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service and storage-as-a-service.

3PL (third-party logistics) - A 3PL (third-party logistics) provider offers outsourced logistics services, which encompass anything that involves management of one or more facets of procurement and fulfillment activities.
Anaplan - Anaplan is a web-based enterprise platform for business planning.
API economy - The API economy refers to the set of business models and practices designed around the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) in today's digital economy.
Azure Quantum - Azure Quantum is a full-stack cloud service designed to allow users remote access to quantum computers.
bare-metal cloud - Bare-metal cloud is a public cloud service that offers dedicated hardware resources without any installed operating systems or virtualization infrastructure.
big data as a service (BDaaS) - Big data as a service (BDaS) is the delivery of data platforms and tools by a cloud provider to help organizations process, manage and analyze large data sets so they can generate insights to improve business operations and gain a competitive advantage.
carrier cloud - A carrier cloud is a cloud computing environment that is owned and operated by a traditional telecommunications service provider.
CenturyLink - CenturyLink is an integrated telecommunications company that provides a wide variety of products and services to clients across the globe, including networking, cloud service and security solutions.
Chef (software) - Chef is an open source systems management and cloud infrastructure automation platform.
Citrix Cloud - Citrix Cloud is a management and delivery platform for IT administrators to design, deliver and manage virtual desktops and applications and other services, such as file sharing, on any device.
cloud archive - A cloud archive is storage as a service for long-term data retention.
Cloud Controls Matrix - The Cloud Controls Matrix is a baseline set of security controls created by the Cloud Security Alliance to help enterprises assess the risk associated with a cloud computing provider.
Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) - The Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) is an international standard that defines a functional interface that applications use to create, retrieve, update and delete data elements from cloud storage.
cloud ecosystem - A cloud ecosystem is a complex system of interdependent components that all work together to enable cloud services.
cloud encryption - Cloud encryption is a service cloud storage providers offer whereby a customer's data is transformed using encryption algorithms from plaintext into ciphertext and stored in the cloud.
cloud ERP - Cloud ERP is a type of enterprise resource planning software that runs on a provider's cloud computing platform, rather than on premises on an enterprise's own computers.
cloud hosting - Cloud hosting is the process of outsourcing an organization's computing and storage resources to a service provider that offers its infrastructure services in a utility model.
cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM) - Cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM) is a discipline for managing identities and privileges in cloud environments.
cloud load balancing - Cloud load balancing is the process of distributing workloads across computing resources in a cloud computing environment and carefully balancing the network traffic accessing those resources.
cloud management platform (CMP) - A cloud management platform (CMP) is a suite of integrated software tools that an enterprise can use to monitor and control cloud environments.
cloud modernization - Cloud modernization is a multistep process where existing on-premises applications, infrastructure and data sources are migrated, updated and transformed into a cloud-based architecture and environment.
cloud NAS (cloud network attached storage) - Cloud NAS (network attached storage) is remote storage that is accessed over the internet as if it is local.
cloud object storage - Cloud object storage is a format for storing unstructured data in the cloud.
cloud orchestration (cloud orchestrator) - Cloud orchestration is the use of programming technology to manage the interconnections and interactions among workloads on public and private cloud infrastructure.
cloud penetration testing - Cloud penetration testing is a tactic an organization uses to assess its cloud security effectiveness by attempting to evade its own defenses.
cloud provisioning - Cloud provisioning is the allocation of a cloud provider's resources and services to a customer.
Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) - The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is a nonprofit organization that promotes research into best practices for securing cloud computing and the use of cloud technologies to secure other forms of computing.
cloud security architecture - Cloud security architecture is a security strategy designed around securing an organization's data and applications in the cloud.
cloud security posture management (CSPM) - Cloud security posture management (CSPM) is a market segment for IT security tools that are designed to identify misconfiguration issues and compliance risks in the cloud.
cloud service provider (cloud provider) - A cloud service provider, or CSP, is a company that offers components of cloud computing -- typically, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS) or platform as a service (PaaS).
cloud SLA (cloud service-level agreement) - A cloud SLA (cloud service-level agreement) is an agreement between a cloud service provider and a customer that ensures a minimum level of service is maintained.
cloud storage - Cloud storage is a service model in which data is transmitted and stored on remote storage systems, where it is maintained, managed, backed up and made available to users over a network (typically the internet).
cloud storage API - A cloud storage API is an application programming interface that connects a locally based application to a cloud-based storage system so that a user can send data to it and access and work with data stored in it.
cloud storage provider - A cloud storage provider, sometimes referred to as a managed service provider, is a company that offers organizations and individuals the ability to place and retain data in an off-site storage system.
cloud storage service - A cloud storage service is a business that maintains and manages its customers' data and makes that data accessible over a network, usually the internet.
Cloud visibility: Definition, importance and challenges - Cloud visibility is a company's ability to monitor, track and gain insight into its cloud infrastructure and resources.
cloud washing - Cloud washing (also spelled cloudwashing) is the purposeful and sometimes deceptive attempt by a vendor to rebrand an old product or service by associating the buzzword 'cloud' with it.
cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) - Cloud-native application protection platform, or CNAPP, is a software product that bundles multiple cloud security tools into one package, thereby delivering a holistic approach for securing an organization's cloud infrastructure, its cloud-native applications and its cloud workloads.
colocation (colo) - A colocation facility (colo) is a data center or telecommunications facility in which a business can rent space for servers, storage devices, and other computing and networking hardware.
Common Service Center (CSC) - Common Service Center (CSC) is an initiative by the government of India to establish locations with computers that are freely available for citizens to use.
compliance as a service (CaaS) - Compliance as a service (CaaS) is a cloud service that specifies how a managed service provider (MSP) helps an organization meet its regulatory compliance mandates.
converged infrastructure - Converged infrastructure, sometimes called 'converged architecture,' is an approach to data center management that packages compute, networking, servers, storage and virtualization tools into a prequalified set of IT hardware.
data center as a service (DCaaS) - Data center as a service (DCaaS) is the provision of off-site physical data center facilities and infrastructure to clients.
data center interconnect (DCI) - Data center interconnect (DCI) technology links two or more data centers together to share resources.
data center modernization - Data center modernization includes updating and improving a data center to meet the requirements of the current and the next generation of workloads.
data collection - Data collection is the process of gathering data for use in business decision-making, strategic planning, research and other purposes.
data lake - A data lake is a storage repository that holds a vast amount of raw data in its native format until it is needed for analytics applications.
data migration - Data migration is the process of transferring data between data storage systems, data formats or computer systems.
database as a service (DBaaS) - Database as a service (DBaaS) is a cloud computing managed service offering that provides access to a database without requiring the setup of physical hardware, the installation of software or the need to configure the database.
DataBricks - DataBricks is an organization and big data processing platform founded by the creators of Apache Spark.
decoupled architecture - In general, a decoupled architecture is a framework for complex work that allows components to remain completely autonomous and unaware of each other.
dedicated cloud - A dedicated cloud is a single-tenant cloud infrastructure, which essentially acts as an isolated, single-tenant public cloud.
desktop as a service (DaaS) - Desktop as a service (DaaS) is a cloud computing offering in which a third party hosts the back end of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployment.
Docker image - A Docker image is a file used to execute code in a Docker container.
Docker Swarm - Docker Swarm is a container orchestration tool for clustering and scheduling Docker containers.
end-user computing (EUC) - End-user computing (EUC) is a term that refers to the technologies that IT professionals use to deploy, manage and secure the devices, applications and data that workers require to perform their jobs.
Exchange Online - Exchange Online is the hosted version of Microsoft's Exchange Server messaging platform that organizations can obtain as a stand-alone service or via an Office 365 subscription.
Fujitsu Ltd. - Fujitsu Ltd.
function as a service (FaaS) - Function as a service (FaaS) is a cloud computing model that enables cloud customers to develop applications and deploy functionalities and only be charged when the functionality executes.
Google BigQuery - Google BigQuery is a cloud-based big data analytics web service for processing very large read-only data sets.
Google ChromeOS - Google ChromeOS, formerly Chrome OS, is a lightweight operating system (OS) built on ChromiumOS, an open source OS that shares the same code base as ChromeOS.
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) - Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a managed Kubernetes service for containers and container clusters running on Google Cloud infrastructure.
green cloud - Green cloud refers to the potential environmental benefits that green IT services delivered over the internet can offer to individual companies and society as a whole.
grid computing - Grid computing is a system for connecting a large number of computer nodes into a distributed architecture that delivers the compute resources necessary to solve complex problems.
guest virtual machine (guest VM) - A guest virtual machine (VM) is the software component of a VM, an independent instance of an operating system (OS), called a guest OS, and its associated software and information.
homomorphic encryption - Homomorphic encryption is the conversion of data into ciphertext that can be analyzed and worked with as if it were still in its original form.
hosted virtual desktop (HVD) - A hosted virtual desktop (HVD) is a user interface that connects to applications and data that are stored on a cloud provider's servers rather than on the user's computer or the corporate network.
hybrid cloud architecture - Hybrid cloud architecture is a type of cloud computing architecture that combines public cloud, private cloud and on-premises resources.
hybrid cloud management - Hybrid cloud management characterizes the processes and tools for managing applications that span public and private cloud computing infrastructure.
hybrid cloud security - Hybrid cloud security is the combination of technologies and practices that protect a hybrid cloud user's sensitive data, infrastructure and applications.
hybrid cloud storage - Hybrid cloud storage is an approach to managing cloud storage that uses both local and off-site resources.
IBM Cloud (formerly IBM Bluemix and IBM SoftLayer) - IBM Cloud is a suite of cloud computing services from IBM that offers both platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
iCloud - Apple's free iCloud service stores subscribers' photos, videos, documents, apps and more and updates everything across users' synced devices.
Kubernetes - Kubernetes, also referred to as K8s for the number of letters between K and S, is an open source platform used to manage containerized applications across private, public and hybrid cloud environments.
lift and shift - Lift and shift is a strategy for moving an application or operation from one environment to another without stopping to redesign the app's or operation's workflow.
managed hosting - Managed hosting is an IT provisioning model in which a service provider leases dedicated servers and associated hardware to a single customer and manages those systems on the customer's behalf.
metered services (pay-per-use) - Metered services (also called pay-per-use) are any type of payment structure in which a customer has access to potentially unlimited resources but only pays for what they actually use.
Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute - Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute is a service that provides a private connection between an organization's on-premises infrastructure and Microsoft Azure data centers.
Microsoft Intune - Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based unified endpoint management (UEM) tool that aims to help organizations manage the mobile devices employees use to access corporate data and applications, such as email.
Microsoft Office 365 suite - Microsoft Office 365 suite is a hosted, online version of Microsoft Office software.
NoOps (no operations) - NoOps (no operations) is a concept that an IT environment can become so automated and abstracted from the underlying infrastructure that there's no need for a dedicated team to manage software in-house.
Open Virtualization Format (OVF) - The Open Virtualization Format (OVF) is an open source standard for packaging and distributing software applications and services for virtual machines (VMs).
OpenStack - OpenStack is a collection of open source software modules and tools that provides organizations with a framework to create and manage both public cloud and private cloud infrastructure.
Oracle Cloud - Oracle Cloud is a subscription-based public cloud services offering from database company Oracle.
Oracle Customer Experience Cloud (Oracle CX Cloud) - Oracle Customer Experience Cloud (Oracle CX Cloud) is a suite of cloud-based tools for customer relationship management (CRM), sales, marketing, customer service, e-commerce and other tools, such as configure, price, quote (CPQ) tools.
pay-as-you-go cloud computing (PAYG cloud computing) - Pay-as-you-go cloud computing (PAYG cloud computing) is a payment method for cloud computing that charges based on usage.
PC as a service (PCaaS) - PC as a service (PCaaS) is a device lifecycle management model in which an organization pays a monthly subscription fee to lease endpoint hardware and management services from a vendor.
personal cloud storage (PCS) - Personal cloud storage (PCS) is a local network-attached storage (NAS) device that lets users store data, photos, music, videos and other files and is optimized for media streaming.
private cloud storage (internal cloud storage) - Private cloud storage, also called internal cloud storage, is a service delivery model for storage within a large enterprise.
provisioning - In the context of IT and computing, provisioning refers to the process of setting up IT infrastructure and providing access to authorized users to the various resources that are part of the infrastructure.
public cloud storage - Public cloud storage, also called online storage, is a service model that provides data storage on a pay-per-use basis.
SaaS ERP - SaaS ERP is a type of cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that runs on the vendor's or cloud provider's servers, is sold through subscription and delivered as a service over the internet.
Salesforce - Salesforce, Inc.
SAP Analytics Cloud - SAP Analytics Cloud (or SAP Cloud for Analytics) is a software as a service (SaaS) business intelligence (BI) platform designed by SAP.
SAP Cloud Platform - SAP Cloud Platform (SCP) is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) product that provides a development and runtime environment for cloud applications.
serverless computing - Serverless computing is a cloud computing execution model that lets software developers build and run applications and servers without having to provision or manage the back-end infrastructure.
sharding - Sharding is a type of database partitioning that separates large databases into smaller, faster, more easily managed parts.
unified computing system (UCS) - A unified computing system (UCS) is a converged data center architecture that integrates computing, networking and storage resources to increase efficiency and enable centralized management.
utility storage - Utility storage is a service model in which a provider makes storage capacity available to an individual, organization or business unit on a pay-per-use basis.
virtual firewall - A virtual firewall is a firewall device or service that provides network traffic filtering and monitoring for virtual machines (VMs) in a virtualized environment.