Almost all of us are using the cloud services, such as online banking and social networks, but unaware of what Cloud Computing is all about. What comes up in our mind about the cloud is that, it is a visible mass of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere impacted by weather changes. However, this is not true in the case of Cloud Computing.

The "cloud" is a combination of different types of hardware and software working collectively to deliver many aspects of computing to the end-user as an online service. With this definition in mind, Cloud Computing is the use of hardware and software to deliver a service over a network (typically the Internet), wherein you can access files and use applications from any device that can access the Internet. An example of a Cloud Computing provider is Google's Gmail. Through Gmail, you can access files and applications hosted by Google from any device via the Internet.

Unlike traditional computing where data is stored on your PC’s local hard drive, the data in the cloud is stored on many physical and/or virtual servers that are hosted by a third-party service provider. An example of a cloud computing file storage provider is Dropbox. Dropbox files can be accessed from any device via the Internet.

The following are the two types of clouds:

• Public Cloud: A Public Cloud is based on the standard cloud computing framework which consists of files, applications, storage and services available to the public via the Internet. Example: Gmail.
• Private Cloud: Private Cloud is comprised of files, applications, storage and services that are implemented and protected within a corporate firewall, under the control of a corporate IT department. Example: A company that uses Microsoft Exchange because Microsoft Exchange can only be accessed by an authorized user through a secure VPN connection.

Multiple Uses of Cloud Computing

Some of the benefits of adopting cloud-based applications in education for making the knowledge sharing enriched, empowered, and simplified are listed below:

1. Students save on expensive textbooks

2. Learning material need not be outdated

3. No need for expensive hardware or software

5. Reaching out to a diverse range of students

6. No need to carry around devices

7. Easy access

8. Data security

For more examples on Cloud Computing, refer to https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/examples-of-cloud-computing/.

References
1. Wang (2012). "Enterprise cloud service architectures". Information Technology and Management. 13 (4): 445–454. doi:10.1007/s10799-012-0139-4.
2. "What is Cloud Computing?". Amazon Web Services. 2013-03-19. Retrieved 2013-03-20. 

3. Baburajan, Rajani (2011-08-24). "The Rising Cloud Storage Market Opportunity Strengthens Vendors". It.tmcnet.com. Retrieved 2011-12-02.