Essential characteristics of Cloud Computing: 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines cloud computing through  five particular characteristics. 

(i) On-demand self-service: Self-service means that the consumer performs all the actions  needed to acquire the services such as Email, Network Storage, or Server time . Such  services can be availed without interaction with service providers like Amazon Web  Services (AWS), Google and Salesforce.com. 

(ii) Broad network access: Cloud services are available over the network and accessed through  several thin or thick client platforms such as mobile phones, laptops and PDAs. 

(iii)Location independent resource pooling: 

Cloud computing resources are designed to support a multi-tenant model. Multi-tenancy  allows multiple customers to share the same applications or the same physical infrastructure  while maintaining privacy and security over their information. 

Resource pooling means that multiple customers are serviced from the same physical  resources. Providers’ resource pool should be very large and flexible enough to service 

multiple client requirements. The user generally does not know where the computing  resources are located. 

(iv)Rapid elasticity: Computing resources can be rapidly provisioned, increased, or  decreased to meet changing user demand. To the consumer, the resources available for  rent often appear to be infinite and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. 

(v) Measured Service: Cloud computing resource usage can be measured, controlled, and  reported. It provides transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilised  services. Cloud computing use a metering capability which enables to control and  optimise resource use. It means that just like electricity or municipality water IT  services are charged per usage metrics – pay per use. 

Benefits of Cloud Computing: 

The important benefits of cloud computing are given below.

BENEFITS OF CLOUD COMPUTING 

1. Scalability 

One of the key benefits cloud computing is its scalability. Cloud computing allows your  business to easily scale up or scale down your IT requirements as and when required. A scalable application is one that works well with 1 user or 1,00,000 users. It can manage  heavy network traffic automatically. It is achieved by adding and removing virtual  machines only when needed. Scalable apps consume only the resources necessary to meet  demand. 

2. Simplicity 

You can set up a cloud computing service in few minutes. Adjusting your individual  settings like choosing a password or selecting which devices you want to connect to the  network is quite simple. After that, you can immediately start using the resources and  software applications. 

3. Vendors 

When new technology is introduced in the market, several vendors are ready to provide  service in that technology. Companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft,IBM and  SalesForce.com are well reputed in Cloud Computing. They offer secure and reliable  Services to their customers. 

4. Security 

Cloud computing offers more security than local servers. You need not worry about  losing important data. Some cloud providers even back up data to additional remote servers so  data loss just won’t happen. Cloud providers also perform regular security audits. They use  cryptographic algorithms for user authentication. In addition, Users can encrypt their files  before uploading them to the cloud. 

5.Remote Access: Important benefit of cloud computing is that you are not limited to work on a  single PC. You just access your “cloud PC” from anywhere and your existing applications and  documents will follow you.