Hello, and welcome to this course what is Cloud Computing. This is a question that many people ask, because we hear the term all the time in the IT industry and beyond. But what is it? What does it comprise of, why is it so prevalent and key to business development? This course will aim to answer all of those questions. Before we start, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Stuart Scott. I'm one of the trainers here at Cloud Academy, specializing in AWS, Amazon Web Services. Feel free to connect with me with any questions, using the details shared on the screen. Alternatively, you can always get in touch with us here at Cloud Academy by sending an email to support@cloudacademy.com. 

This course is intended for anyone who wants to learn about Cloud Computing, who may have no or very little knowledge of it currently. It's for those of you who are looking to learn more about the Cloud, to decide if it's something you want to adopt within your business, or those of you that may be seeking a career move and want to learn the foundation of Cloud principles, then this course is for you. 

As this is a foundation and beginner course at Cloud Computing, I shall be discussing explaining the following key areas. Starting with, what is Cloud Computing. Here I should give you a definition of what it is in its most simplest form. We'll then look at Cloud deployment models, and within this lecture, I shall be reviewing and discussing three different models that you should be aware of. Next, I'll look at some key Cloud concepts, and here I shall explain some of the key concepts that apply to Cloud Computing. 

Following this, I'll be looking at different Cloud service models, and these differ from deployment models and focus more on the services offered by the Cloud. So I will dive into each of these, giving you an explanation of how they differ. Then I'll look at some common use cases of Cloud Computing, and here I should give a few examples of what enterprises are using Cloud Computing for, to drive their business and operations forward. 

Then I'll look at how data center architecture is reflected within the Cloud. So in this lecture, I explain how certain technology that we use on premises today, such as routes and switches, are reflected within the public Cloud. And then finally, there'll be a summary lecture, highlighting the key points from all the previous lectures. On completion of this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of Cloud Computing along with its key concepts and benefits. This will allow you to determine when Cloud Computing should be used and which model and service to deploy. It will also give you a solid foundation to continue on with deeper learning about the Cloud and other Cloud service providers, such as Amazon Web Services, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and the Google Cloud Platform, GCP. 

Although not essential for this course, it would be advantageous if you have a basic understanding of Server hardware components and a basic understanding of what a datacenter is. Feedback on our courses here at Cloud Academy are valuable to both us as trainers and any students looking to take the same course in the future. If you have any feedback, positive or negative, it would be greatly appreciated if you could send an email to support@cloudacademy.com That brings me to the end of this lecture, coming up next I'll answer the question, "What is Cloud Computing?"