Cloud computing utilizes the network as a means to connect the user to resources that are based in the 'cloud', as opposed to actually possessing them. The 'cloud' may be accessed via the Internet or a company network, or both. Cloud services may be designed to work equally well with Linux, Mac and Windows platforms. With smartphones and tablets on the rise, cloud services have changed to allow access from any device connected to the Internet, allowing mobile workers access on-the-go, as in telecommuting, and extending the reach of business services provided by outsourcing.
The service provider, such as Google, may pool the processing power of multiple remote computers in "the cloud" to achieve the task, such as backing up of large amounts of data, word processing, or computationally intensive work. These tasks would normally be difficult, time consuming, or expensive for an individual user or a small company to accomplish, especially with limited computing resources and funds. With 'cloud computing', clients only require a simple computer, such as netbooks which were created with cloud computing in mind, or even a smartphone, with a connection to the Internet, or a company network, in order to make requests to and receive data from the cloud, hence the term "software as a service" (SaaS). Computation and storage is divided among the remote computers in order to handle large volumes of both, thus the client need not purchase expensive hardware or software to handle the task. The outcome of the processing task is returned to the client over the network, depending on the speed of the Internet connection.
