Cloud computing
Data storage and software programs are no longer located on your own computers but “in the cloud” – an IT infrastructure which is available worldwide over the Internet.
Software in the cloud is provided to all our customers independently of each other. Internet access and web browsers are the only individual system requirements.
Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption and delivery model for IT services based on the Internet, and it typically involves the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources as a service over the Internet.
In general, cloud computing customers do not own the physical infrastructure, instead avoiding capital expenditure by renting usage from a third-party provider. They consume resources as a service and pay only for resources that they use. Many cloud-computing offerings employ the utility computing model, which is analogous to how traditional utility services (such as electricity) are consumed, whereas others bill on a subscription basis. Sharing "perishable and intangible" computing power among multiple tenants can improve utilization rates, as servers are not unnecessarily left idle (which can reduce costs significantly while increasing the speed of application development). In addition, "increased high-speed bandwidth" makes it possible to receive the same response times from centralized infrastructure at other sites.