Cloud services, also known as cloud computing, refers to the sharing of software and other resources that are provided to computers over a network in the form of a utility. It is more concerned with the delivery of computing not as a product but rather as a service. Another explanation that suits cloud computing is that it is a practice of using a network of remote servers that are hosted on the internet to manage and process data instead of opting to use a local server or a personal computer. The general idea here is that you can store your media on the internet with the benefit of being able to access it from any device thus giving you the option of juggling your data around multiple gadgets.

In order to obtain a better understanding of this subject, let us examine some of the general characteristics of cloud computing.

The first characteristic of cloud computing is that it offers dynamic computing infrastructure. The foundation of this infrastructure, namely the internet, is standardized, scalable and secure. Another thing is that this infrastructure is easy to expand since it can do so without requiring any architectural rework.

IT Service Centric approach- To say that cloud computing is IT service centric simply means that users can easily access powerful and pre-defined computing environments that are designed specifically around their service. This IT service centric approach therefore enables user adoption and facilitates business agility since it speeds up the ease with which a user can carry out a specific task thus reducing the cost of driving revenue.

Cloud computing is a self-service based model. Self service cloud offering provides users with the ability to upload and even manage their data as and when they see fit. Not only is this service based model easy to use but there are also intuitive user interfaces that assist users in managing their service deliverycycles.

Multi-tenancy is another defining characteristic of cloud services. Simply put, multi-tenancy refers to the sharing of costs and resources across a large pool of users. This presents a lot of benefits to the average user.

Examples here include:
-Peak load capacity- this means that as the load capacity increases, the users do not need to engineer for the highest possible load levels.
-Efficiency- Multi- tenancy ensures that systems that often utilize very little functionality maximize their potential to the highest possible levels.

Number five on our list is the pay per use feature or consumption based billing as it is commonly referred to. In a statement, cloud computing is consumption driven.This feature enables users to pay only for what they use and therefore helps them to keep their spending costs down since they are able to track their usage.  Following these factors, cloud computing has enabled corporations to not only improve their profit margins but also gain a competitive edge in the markets that they serve.