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Cloud Computing

Cloud computing allows users to utilize off-site computing infrastructure, often in an overseas jurisdiction, as a platform for running networked applications and storing data, among other tasks. There are several competing definitions of cloud computing, but the definition introduced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is widely regarded as the de facto definition. The definition has also been adopted by a number of governments worldwide, such as Australia.

Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Because data stored in cloud services are accessed ...

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