Cloud computing refers to expandable, on-demand services and tools that are served to the user
via the Internet from a specialised data centre. Cloud computing resources support collaboration,
file storage, virtualization, and access to computing cycles, and the number of available
applications that rely on cloud technologies have grown to the point that few institutions do not
make some use of the cloud, whether as a matter of policy or not. Cloud computing has come to
play an increasingly indispensable role in the utility of the many devices people use in everyday
life. Whether connecting at home, work, school, on the road, or in social spaces, nearly everyone
who uses the network relies on cloud computing to access or extend their information and
applications. As cloud computing has become ever more important, questions related to privacy,
data security, and even sovereignty have led to the development of private clouds. Recently,
hybrid clouds have been custom-designed to meet specialised security or other critical needs that
a commodity cloud cannot.