Imagine having a computer that never breaks down, or that never needs to be upgraded. What if you never had to install any software, or had access to all the data storage space you can ever need? All you need to do is plug your computing device into a public cloud and simply pay for what you use.

The public cloud is a facility with a lot of processing capacity, virtually unlimited data storage, microprocessing power and Web bandwidth — that they sell to anyone who needs it.

Its main idea is that you do not need to buy, upgrade or maintain your own server computers. Public clouds also have capabilities to protect users from the dangers of losing their files and help avoid paying for expensive high speed Internet access for any software applications users want to make available online.

Other interesting terms…