October 30th, 2011 
admin Cloud computing is a web based solution that can be used for email services, online group creation, backup and a growing list of other features. Instead of needing a piece of software installed on your machine you use various third-party hosted services and applications from your web browser.
The services have several characteristics in general that make them attractive. They are scalable from a few to hundreds of users, are user control and managed and have a lower cost overall than their non cloud based counterparts. These systems are roughly divided into three different categories: private, public and hybrid.
Each has different characteristics that define each from the other. And each has its place in certain situations or environments.
Private clouds are hosted applications and services that are used by only one business or organization. These are usually custom designed for a particular group and have increased security. Only members of that particular business can access any resources within.
Public clouds are what most people have in mind when they hear about cloud computing. These services such as Google Apps and Microsoft Live services are web-based per user services. Each person has their own account on the cloud and then can pick what applications and services each of these providers have to choose from.
And the last type of cloud service Hybrid combines elements of both. A business that would want to have a public community and an employee only section would be an example of a hybrid cloud.
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