At first glance "The Cloud" seems magical but, like a visit to "The Great and Powerful OZ", when you look deeper you discover there is more behind the scenes . The cloud is not magical; it's actually a real distribution system with a structure that makes it all work. Cloud computing is defined by Investopedia's online dictionary as a model for providing data and software stored in servers that are retrieved from the Internet via web-based tools and applications, rather than a direct connection to a server. When it comes down to the basics, cloud computing and traditional client/server have similar structure and functions. However, instead of purchasing and maintaining large and expensive internal servers, the cloud computing structure allows access to information as long as Internet access is available. It is for this reason that "The Cloud" is becoming more and more popular. This model uses a combination of the Internet and central remote servers to store and maintain data along with applications. This allows the public and corporate sector to use applications without installation and provide access to files from any computer with Internet access. This enables a higher level of effectiveness by centralizing storage, memory, processing and bandwidth. In the cloud computing model, customers do not own the physical infrastructure; instead, they can save costs by leasing usage from a third-party provider. The resources are provided as a service and the customer pays for the amount of resources used. As a customer you no longer need to maintain a server and storage space, you save on internal technical support to keep a system up and running and provide updates. When you want to use a business......half of paper......that consumption is measured and the customer pays only for what he consumes. I believe that cloud computing is a natural step in the evolution of computing and will always have its roots in the client/server network. Works Cited Strickland, Jonathan. “How Cloud Computing Works,” April 8, 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. February 21, 2014Investopedia Dictionary(nd). Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/dictionaryhttp://blog.cbeyond.com/navigating-the-4- cloud-deployment-modelsMorrison, C. (2013, December 16). Retrieved from http://blog.cbeyond.comCloud Computing Explained: Cloud Computing Basics (n.d.). .com/WHAT ARE DEPLOYMENT MODELS IN CLOUD COMPUTING Retrieved from http://www.cloud-competence-center.com/