Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Cloud computing metaphor: the group of networked elements providing services does not need to be addressed or managed individually by users; instead, the entire provider-managed suite of hardware and software can be thought of as an amorphous cloud . Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to ISO. [1] It is commonly referred to as ... The "New Way" ( Cloud Computing): The cloud changes this model entirely. Instead of buying hardware, you rent computing power from a cloud provider (like AWS, Google, or Microsoft). What is cloud computing? Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. Instead of buying, owning, and maintaining physical data centers and servers, you can access technology services, such as computing power, storage, and databases, on an as-needed basis from a cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS).