Infrastructure & Compute
Cloud computing
Renting computing resources such as servers, storage, and databases over the internet.
Example
A startup rents processors from a cloud provider instead of buying its own hardware.
Why it matters
It lets teams use computing capacity without owning all the equipment themselves.
You'll hear it
“We can rent extra capacity for the busy period.”
Can you control it?
Set by the team
The people building or running the AI choose this setup. An everyday user generally needs their help to change how this part works.
Common questions
- Does cloud mean the data has no physical location?
- No. It is still handled on real equipment in particular places.
- Can an outage affect cloud services?
- Yes. Providers and network connections can fail.
- Does renting remove all maintenance responsibility?
- No. Customers may still manage application settings, data and access.