What are the common use cases for cloud computing?

Cloud computing is widely used for hosting applications, managing data, and enabling scalable infrastructure. Three common use cases include web hosting and scalability, data storage and backup, and DevOps/continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) workflows. These applications leverage cloud services to reduce operational overhead, improve flexibility, and handle dynamic workloads efficiently.

Web Hosting and Scalability Cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure are frequently used to host websites and web applications. Developers deploy applications using virtual machines (e.g., EC2 instances) or serverless platforms (e.g., AWS Lambda) to handle traffic fluctuations. For example, an e-commerce site might use auto-scaling groups to add servers during peak shopping periods and reduce them afterward, optimizing costs. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) like CloudFront or Cloudflare are also integrated to cache static assets globally, improving load times. This approach eliminates the need to maintain physical servers and allows teams to focus on code rather than infrastructure.

Data Storage and Backup Cloud storage services such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Azure Blob Storage provide durable, scalable solutions for storing user-generated data, logs, or backups. Developers use these services to offload large datasets from local servers, ensuring accessibility from anywhere. For instance, a mobile app might store user-uploaded images in S3 with lifecycle policies to automatically archive older files to cheaper storage tiers. Managed databases like Amazon RDS or Cloud SQL simplify replication, backups, and patching, reducing administrative work. Additionally, disaster recovery setups often rely on cross-region cloud backups to ensure business continuity during outages.

DevOps and CI/CD Pipelines Cloud platforms streamline DevOps workflows by offering tools for automated testing, deployment, and monitoring. Services like AWS CodePipeline, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI/CD enable developers to automate build and deployment processes. For example, a team might configure a pipeline to run unit tests, deploy a containerized app to Kubernetes (via EKS or GKE), and roll back changes if errors occur. Cloud-based container registries (e.g., AWS ECR) and serverless functions (e.g., Azure Functions) further simplify deploying microservices. Infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform or AWS CloudFormation also leverage cloud APIs to provision resources programmatically, ensuring consistent environments across development, staging, and production.