Cloud providers have revolutionized how businesses deploy and scale their applications. This guide will help you understand the major cloud platforms and their impact on modern technology.

## What You'll Learn

* What are cloud providers and their history?
* Key use cases for cloud computing
* Current cloud adoption rates and trends
* Comparison of major cloud providers
* How to choose the right cloud platform
* Learning resources for cloud computing

## Understanding Cloud Providers

Cloud providers have taken the tech world by storm. Amazon led the way with cloud computing in 2006 when it launched [Amazon EC2]. The cloud, however, [was mentioned] as early as 1998.

[The Flexera state of the cloud report] provides a snapshot of cloud computing. The [Flexera] report is compiled annually and describes how companies use cloud providers and their adoption rates.

### Primary Use Cases

Companies use cloud providers for innumerable reasons. There are many use cases due to the flexibility, and interoperability cloud services provide.

_Here are the primary use cases._

* Hosting servers on virtual machines and containers
* Running serverless workloads
* Solving large-scale computing problems like big data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence

## Cloud Adoption Trends

Cloud providers have multiplied to service widespread digital transformations. Cloud adoption is mixed between public and private clouds.

### Public Cloud Adoption

Amazon Web Services leads the pack, while Microsoft Azure is slightly behind. Google has a share but started later and has fewer relationships with large enterprises.

{{< figure src="cloud-providers-adoption.png" alt="Public cloud adoption rates" >}}

### Private Cloud Adoption

Private clouds are an alternative to public clouds. They reduce the complexity of resource hosting by providing accessible APIs.

{{< figure src="cloud-providers-private-cloud-adoption.png" alt="Private cloud adoption rates" >}}

## Major Cloud Providers

### Amazon Web Services (AWS)

{{< figure src="amazon-web-services.png" alt="AWS Logo" >}}

In 2002 the AWS platform was born. This emergence was a classic case of [dogfooding] since Amazon needed [web-scale] services. Why wouldn't Amazon attempt to recoup some of its hosting costs by reselling its platforms?

The AWS platform applies [the single-responsibility principle] to its services in most cases. Services like [LightSail] aggregate services into a single service.

### Microsoft Azure

{{< figure src="microsoft-azure.png" alt="Microsoft Azure Logo" >}}

Microsoft Azure is like AWS in many ways. It provides scalable services that complement its business productivity solutions. Azure's cloud services appear like a monolith within the [Azure Web Portal]. Under the hood, single-responsibility services like Azure Functions allow you to run functions in the cloud.

### Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

{{< figure src="google-cloud.png" alt="Google Cloud Logo" >}}

Google's services have evolved in fits over the years. [Google App Engine] was released in 2008 and only ran Python applications. Now [Google App Engine] supports many languages. Google's cloud services resemble other cloud services, as evidenced by the [Google Cloud Functions service].

### Other Cloud Providers

I could [go on and on like Larry Ellison], but I'll spare you. Luckily, the software industry is a shining bastion of commerce. It is booming, and competition is fierce. There's plenty of room for Oracle, VMWare, Red Hat, and others.

## Future of Cloud Computing

Cloud providers are continually evolving. Trends come and go, and the war rages on between cloud-native vs. containers. Software developers are winning the cloud computing wars. If software developers can keep choice overload at bay, they will continue to benefit from cloud providers.

## Learning Resources

### Recommended Books
* [Digital Transformation: Survive and Thrive in an Era of Mass Extinction] - Amazon
* [A Brief Guide to Cloud Computing] - Amazon

### Online Courses
* [Fundamentals of Cloud Computing] - Pluralsight
* [Cloud Computing: The Big Picture] - Pluralsight
* [Learning Cloud Computing: Core Concepts] - LinkedIn
* [Cloud Computing Concepts] - Udemy

[amazon ec2]: https://jeffbailey.us/blog/2020/07/09/learn-ec2/
[was mentioned]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing#History
[the flexera state of the cloud report]: https://resources.flexera.com/web/pdf/report-state-of-the-cloud-2020.pdf
[flexera]: https://www.flexera.com/
[dogfooding]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_your_own_dog_food
[web-scale]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2F-DItXtZs&t=50s
[the single-responsibility principle]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-responsibility_principle
[lightsail]: https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/
[azure web portal]: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/features/azure-portal/
[google app engine]: https://cloud.google.com/appengine
[google cloud functions service]: https://cloud.google.com/functions/docs
[go on and on like larry ellison]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FacYAI6DY0
[digital transformation: survive and thrive in an era of mass extinction]: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Transformation-Survive-Thrive-Extinction/dp/1948122480
[a brief guide to cloud computing]: https://www.amazon.com/Brief-Guide-Computing-Histories-Paperback/dp/184901406X/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=history&qid=1592091775&s=books&sr=1-11
[fundamentals of cloud computing]: https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/cloud-computing-fundamentals
[cloud computing: the big picture]: https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/cloud-computing-big-picture
[learning cloud computing: core concepts]: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-cloud-computing-core-concepts-2/change-your-career-with-cloud-computing?u=2130809
[cloud computing concepts]: https://www.udemy.com/course/cloud-computing-concepts/