What is Cloud Computing and How Does It Work?

Cloud computing has fundamentally changed how we build and deploy applications. Instead of buying servers and managing data centers, you rent computing resources on-demand from providers like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Let’s break down what cloud computing actually means, how it works under the hood, and what you need to know to build effective cloud systems.

What is Cloud Computing?

At its core, cloud computing means accessing computing resources (servers, storage, databases, networking) over the internet instead of owning and maintaining physical hardware yourself. Think of it like electricity: you don’t generate your own power, you plug into the grid and pay for what you use.

Cloud Over-Reliance: Hidden Risks

As a machine learning engineer with 10 years of production ML experience, the cloud computing revolution has transformed how organizations build and deploy technology infrastructure. 94% of enterprises now use cloud services^[1], with many migrating entire technology stacks to providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. However, this migration has created a new and often underestimated risk: single cloud provider dependency. When organizations concentrate all infrastructure, data, and applications with one vendor, they expose themselves to catastrophic failure scenarios that can cripple operations for hours, days, or even permanently.