Cloud Basics: What AWS, Google Cloud and Azure Do

01

What "the cloud" really is

In simple words

The cloud is like borrowing a bike from a bike-share instead of buying one. You use it when you need it, pay for the time you use, and someone else fixes the flat tires. The "cloud" is just other people's very big computers.

Key facts

AWS defines cloud computing as "the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing."
Instead of buying and running your own servers, you rent computing power, storage and databases when you need them.
The official US definition, from NIST Special Publication 800-145 (September 2011), describes cloud computing as a model with five essential characteristics, three service models and four deployment models:

Five essential characteristics	In plain words
On-demand self-service	You set things up yourself, any time, without calling anyone
Broad network access	Use it over the internet from many devices
Resource pooling	Many customers share the provider's big pool of hardware
Rapid elasticity	Grow or shrink quickly when demand changes
Measured service	Usage is measured, so you pay for what you use

The four deployment models: public cloud (shared, from a provider like AWS), private cloud (for one organization), community cloud (shared by a group with common needs) and hybrid cloud (a mix).
This course looks at three large public cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Step by step

Write the AWS definition in your own words: renting computing power, storage and databases over the internet when you need them and paying as you use.
Copy the five NIST characteristics and write one plain-words example for each.
Write the four deployment models: public, private, community and hybrid.
Name one thing you use that runs in the cloud, such as email or photo backup.
Check: you can explain 'the cloud' to a friend without using the word 'cloud'.

Watch on YouTube

What is cloud computing?Amazon Web Services · YouTube · youtube.com

Cloud 101: an introduction to cloud computingAWS Public Sector · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01What "the cloud" really is

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "The cloud isn't in the sky. It's huge buildings full of computers that you rent by the minute."
[Text on screen: On-demand IT over the internet, pay-as-you-go] "On-demand computing over the internet, and you pay for what you use."
[Text on screen: AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud] "In this course: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud."

Try it now

List five apps or services you used today (email, photos, streaming, banking). For each, write whether you think it stores your data on your device, in the cloud, or both.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Cloud Basics: What AWS, Google Cloud and Azure Do" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "What "the cloud" really is".

What the lesson teaches:
- AWS defines cloud computing as "the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing."
- Instead of buying and running your own servers, you rent computing power, storage and databases when you need them.
- The official US definition, from NIST Special Publication 800-145 (September 2011), describes cloud computing as a model with five essential characteristics, three service models and four deployment models:
- Five essential characteristics - In plain words
- On-demand self-service - You set things up yourself, any time, without calling anyone
- Broad network access - Use it over the internet from many devices
- Resource pooling - Many customers share the provider's big pool of hardware

The exercise I'm working on:
List five apps or services you used today (email, photos, streaming, banking). For each, write whether you think it stores your data on your device, in the cloud, or both.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "What "the cloud" really is" from the course "Cloud Basics: What AWS, Google Cloud and Azure Do".

Here's what the lesson says:
The cloud is like borrowing a bike from a bike-share instead of buying one. You use it when you need it, pay for the time you use, and someone else fixes the flat tires. The "cloud" is just other people's very big computers.

The activity:
List five apps or services you used today (email, photos, streaming, banking). For each, write whether you think it stores your data on your device, in the cloud, or both.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

AWS, what is cloud computing: aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-computing/
NIST, SP 800-145, The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing: csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/145/final

My notes

I learned this

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