cloud computing

6 synonyms and 1 antonym for cloud computing, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — The practice of using computers, storage and software that belong to someone else and are reached over the internet, paying for what is used instead of owning and running the machines yourself.

Synonyms

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

the cloud hosted computing on-demand computing utility computing cloud services cloud infrastructure

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

The practice of using computers, storage and software that belong to someone else and are reached over the internet, paying for what is used instead of owning and running the machines yourself.

“The company moved its systems to cloud computing and closed its own server room.”

the cloud hosted computing on-demand computing utility computing

Opposites

on-premises computing

2. noun computing

The industry and set of services built on that practice, including rented servers, storage, databases and software delivered over a network.

“Cloud computing now accounts for most of the firm's technology budget.”

cloud services cloud infrastructure

How to use cloud computing

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

move to cloud computing cloud computing provider public cloud cloud infrastructure

Standard in business and technology writing; the cloud is the everyday short form.

Etymology

From cloud, long used in network diagrams as a symbol for a network whose internal detail is not shown, and computing.

Full origin of cloud computing →

Frequently asked questions

Where is the cloud actually?

In data centres: large buildings full of real computers, owned by providers and connected to the internet. Nothing is stored in the sky; the word cloud only reflects that the customer does not need to know which machine in which building is doing the work.

What is the difference between cloud computing and cloud storage?

Cloud storage is about keeping files on someone else's machines and fetching them back. Cloud computing is broader and includes running programs, databases and whole systems on those machines, with storage being one part of it.

What do IaaS, PaaS and SaaS mean?

They describe how much of the stack the provider looks after. IaaS supplies bare machines, networks and disks; PaaS supplies a ready environment to run your code in; SaaS supplies finished software you simply log into, such as a webmail service.

Nearby words

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