Ed Beauvais, Director of Product Management for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, recently published “The Essential Guide to Cloud Terminology”—a breakdown of common terms you hear people using when they talk about Cloud. These terms covered Cloud basics, new technology, and other Cloud terminology that people should get familiar with.

Cloud Basics

Here is some basic Cloud terminology that may come up in everyday conversations about Cloud:

• Cloud: The ability to access and consume IT resources. Cloud resources are available over a network, and those resources can be consumed on demand and can be scaled up or down as needed.
• Public Cloud: Clouds that are offered by a third-party and are available to the general public over the Internet.
• Private Cloud: Any cloud that is available to a limited audience and is not publicly available over the Internet.
• Hybrid Cloud: A cloud that combines resources from a public cloud and private cloud in some form.
• Multi-Cloud: Use of one or more third-party public clouds in a single solution.
• Open Cloud: A philosophy of using open protocols, open source software, or open standards to avoid cloud lock-in.
• Cloud Lock-In: Occurs when a customer must continue to use a particular cloud because proprietary services, APIs, or protocols make it difficult to move or migrate a workload.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): The ability to programmatically consume compute network or storage resources as a cloud service.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): The delivery of a cloud framework that allows customers to create applications or business services.
• Software as a Service (SaaS): Applications or components of applications delivered by a third-party over a network.
• Cloud Billing: Metering cloud resources based on use and charging for them, typically monthly.
• Bare Metal Server: A server in the cloud without a hypervisor. It is a type of compute resource available for use in the cloud.
• Virtual Machine (VM): One or more emulated servers that run on a single host. It is a type of compute resource available for use in the cloud.

New Technologies and Cloud Terminology

Cloud is continuously evolving, and there are tons of innovation, technology, and Cloud trends to keep up with. These terms will help break it down for you:

• Serverless: The ability to run workloads without a dedicated host. The request, algorithm, and associated data are submitted to the service provider and processed directly as a transaction. Customers are charged based on the resources required to complete each function. In the serverless consumption model, customers don’t have to worry about infrastructure.
• Containers: Allow applications and dependencies to be packaged together as a single unit, which addresses deployment and environment challenges. Unlike using a VM for each application, all containers on a host share the operating environment.
• Kubernetes: An orchestrating technology for deploying and managing containers. Both technologies are designed for production use and to help customers deploy containers at scale.
• Edge Computing: The ability to collect and process data at remote locations. Data at the edge is often consolidated into a cloud. Decisions can be made faster this way. If the processing occurs at the edge, companies can reduce network traffic and latency, which improves agility.
• Internet of Things (IoT): The billions of devices that are now connected to the Internet. Typical examples include sensors, smart devices, and connected vehicles. With better data, companies can optimize cost or predict failures to improve customer experiences. Be sure to pay attention to the current trends in IoT.

This list of terms covers basic, conversational terms and other Cloud trends and innovations that customers should become familiar with. Check out the “Learn” page on the Quest site to dive into learning more about Cloud terminology!

For more about why you should move to the cloud and tips on choosing a cloud provider, check out Ed’s full article attached below. For a chance to try cloud for yourself, visit www.cloud.oracle.com/tryit.

Additional Resources

For more Oracle HCM Cloud resources, case studies, best practices, etc., check out Quest’s Oracle HCM Cloud Content Center. There are resources and training available for all aspects of HCM Cloud, including payroll, analytics, recruiting, and more!

For more Oracle ERP Cloud resources, case studies, best practices, etc., check out Quest’s Oracle ERP Cloud Content Center. There are resources and training available for all aspects of ERP Cloud, including risk management, financials, extensions, and more!