Cloud Computing is similar to Housing — Explain Like I’m Five (ELI5)

I wrote this article for two reasons. One, to explain my work-related jargons to my toddler. Two, I learn better from writing them down. So how easy can I explain what cloud computing is?

ELI5

Cloud Computing is just like the houses we live in.

I’ll use my home and my daughter’s favourite toy — the kitchen playset — to explain how “Cloud Computing” is like a housing development.

My daughter’s kitchen playset is in her bedroom. Her bedroom is in my flat. My flat is leased to me by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Singapore. My flat unit is in a block with other 100+ flat units. My block is situated on a plot of land in Singapore.

In short, a housing comprises:

(1) Land > (2) Block > (3) Flat > (4) Room > (5) Toy > (6) Kitchen playset (the toy).

Similarly, Cloud Computing comprises

(1) Bare Metal > (2) Infrastructure > (3) Container > (4) Platform > (5) Software > (6) Favourite game (the software).

This looks simple; are we done? Almost.

Jargons

We must understand a few popular jargons to illustrate the various abstractions in “Cloud Computing” such as IaaS, CaaS, PaaS, SaaS, to only name a few.

Applying it in the context of housing:

“I” for Infrastructure.

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) implies that a block of flat is sitting on a plot of land, together with its utilities e.g. the electricity, water, and sewer. In the case of my housing, this entire infrastructure, including the utility services, is provided by HDB.

“C” for Container.

CaaS (Container as a Service) implies that an empty flat within the block is provided by the HDB.

“P” for Platform.

PaaS (Platform as a Service) implies that rooms (e.g. bedroom, living room, or the kitchen area) have been carved out and each room is readily available for my usage. This allocation has been done by HDB.

“S” for Software.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is similar to various toys that are available in the room. This time, the addition of new toys or maintenance of existing ones are provided by me instead.

Conclusion

So “Cloud Computing” effectively means to pass on the resource setup and management to external providers for a fee, i.e. outsourced. The beauty of cloud computing is that we can outsource in varying degrees according to our appetite (e.g. budget) and concerns (e.g. security).

In short, Housing refers to housing needs provided by HDB. On the other hand, Cloud Computing refers to computing needs provided by providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

Disclaimer

Some of Cloud Computing features such as dynamic scaling may not exist in the context of local housing provided by HDB.