The term “cloud” can refer to different things depending on the context:
Meteorological Cloud: In the atmosphere, clouds are visible masses of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air. They are formed when warm air rises, cools, and condenses. Different types of clouds, such as cumulus, stratus, and cirrus, have varying characteristics and are associated with different weather patterns.
Cloud Computing: In technology, the “cloud” refers to the delivery of computing services—such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics—over the internet. Instead of owning and maintaining physical data centers or servers, companies can rent access to these services from a cloud provider like AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.
Public Cloud: Services are provided over the public internet, and users share the infrastructure with other tenants.
Private Cloud: Infrastructure is used exclusively by a single organization, either hosted on-premises or by a third-party provider.
Hybrid Cloud: A combination of public and private cloud, allowing for more flexibility and optimization of resources.
Symbolic/Metaphorical Use: “Cloud” can also be used metaphorically to describe something that obscures clarity, such as “a cloud of doubt” or “under a cloud.”