It was around 2011, after the introduction of 'iCloud' by Apple, the use of this term faced significant growth among people all over the globe, and we have used it ever since, but little that we know this concept has been around for a long time just with a different name. The question that might pop up in your mind by hearing this term is what actually is this 'Cloud'?
Cloud computing refers to delivering computing services over the internet ("the cloud") to offer faster innovation, more flexible resources, and more significant economies of scale.

Before cloud computing came into existence and investment in it, companies had to store all their data and software on their own hard drives and servers. They had to prepare on-premise computing, the same as one hundred years ago when a factory needed electricity, it would build its own power plant; but once the factories were able to buy electricity from a public utility, the need for pricey private electric plants subsided. Same as a public powerplant, nowadays, by virtue of cloud computing, there is a colossal shift arising.

Here's a quick history of where did this start and where it's going:

The second question that you might face is why 'cloud'?
Here is a list to enlight you:
On-premise computing is pretty expensive and hard to scale; cloud-based is easily scalable and charges you for the time you use.
in On-premise computing, you have to manage your data storage, whereas, in cloud-based, there are providers who will manage the data storage
There is more security in cloud-based solutions because you don't have to monitor, and providers will take care of that.
It is improbable that data can be recovered from on-premises systems. In contrast, cloud computing has robust disaster recovery measures to ensure data can be recovered more quickly and easily.
An on-premise solution requires updating hardware and software by ourselves, loading up the cost considerably; on the other hand, in the cloud-based solution, the providers will take care of this for you.

The third question is, how does 'Cloud' work?
Let's start with the Cloud computing types, which have two :

• Service model
• Deployment model

The service model would divide into:

• SaaS(Software as a Service)
  SaaS is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the internet. Some examples of SaaS are Salesforce, Netsuite, Concur, Microsoft 365, etc.
• PaaS(Platform as a Service)
  PaaS is a model in which a third-party provider hosts application development platforms and tools on its own infrastructure and makes them available to customers over the internet. This model enables users to deploy applications without acquiring, managing, or maintaining the related architecture. PaaS requires you to handle the applications and the data, and the cloud handles the rest of the components like runtime and operating system servers.
• IaaS(Infrastructure as a Service)
  IaaS is a model in which a third-party provider hosts servers, storage, and other visualized compute resources and makes them available to customers over the internet. IaaS is a cloud service model where users access basic computing infrastructure commonly used by its administrators. In this model, you must manage the data, middleware software, and os; the cloud will handle the rest. Some examples of IaaS are Microsoft Azure, AWS(Amazon Web Services), and Google Compute Engine.
  
  

The deployment model would be divided into 3 main sections:

• Private cloud
• Public cloud
• Hybrid cloud

Private cloud:
Private clouds are cloud computing models in which the infrastructure is dedicated to a single organization. This model is mainly used in governmental and financial platforms. Some Private cloud vendors are HPE, Redhat, Openstack, etc.

Public cloud:
The most common type of cloud computing deployment is the public cloud. The cloud resources (like servers and storage) are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider and delivered over the internet. The cloud service provider owns and manages all hardware, software, and other supporting infrastructure. Public cloud deployments are frequently used to provide web-based email, online office applications, storage, and testing and development environments. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud are examples of public clouds.

Hybrid cloud:
The hybrid cloud is a computing model that combines on-premises, private, and public cloud services; in some words, you can have control of a private cloud and the low cost and efficiency of a public cloud. Some examples of hybrid clouds are AWS Outposts, Azure Stack, Azure Arc, etc.

It's important to know that each service model could be used in the deployment models.

The need for cloud-based solutions is increasing, and more companies are considering cloud-based solutions. The Cloud computing model enables your business to communicate and share more easily outside of the traditional methods. It allows better employee collaboration, enabling multiple users to share and work on data and files simultaneously. So you'd better get into the cloud computing industry ASAP!