Below is a quick and basic glossary of cloud computing terms.

• Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS): XaaS refers to the growing diversity of services available over the Internet via cloud computing as opposed to being provided locally, or on premises.
• Cloud Computing: A type of computing, comparable to grid computing that relies on sharing computing resources rather than having local servers or personal devices to handle applications.
• Cloud Migration: The process of moving application and service from your typical data center to a provider on the internet.
• Cloud OS: Also, known as Platform as a Service (PaaS), to denote an association to cloud computing.
• Cloud Portability: An applications, service or infrastructure that has the ability to be supported in traditional private networks or public cloud network. Or a combination of both private or public (hybrid).
• Cloud Provider: A company or service that offers storage, software, or infrastructure via a public network or internet.
• Cloud Storage: Remote storage that is available thru a public network or internet that is distributed across multiple resources.
• Desktop as a Service (DaaS): This is a hosted virtual desktop environment that replaces your traditional workstations.
• External Cloud: Public or private cloud services that are provided by a third-party organization.
• Hardware as a Service (HaaS): See IaaS below.
• Hybrid Cloud: This is combination of a public cloud provider with a private cloud platform. The private and public cloud infrastructures operate independently and can be on and/or off premise.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): This is a form of cloud computing where basic infrastructure is remote and custom applications or services can be built on top of that infrastructure.
• Internal Cloud: Another name for a private cloud.
• Internet of Things (IoT): This is a reference to the ever-growing list of products that have IP based addresses for remote management and internet connectivity.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): A category of cloud computing services where you can customize business solutions to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building the underlying infrastructure.
• Private Cloud: A phrase that is used to indicate a secure cloud computing platform that is behind firewalls with limited access point to it. Usually used in highly secure and regulated environments or business needs.
• Software as a Service (SaaS): SaaS is a software delivery method where the software is web enabled and provides the business functionality at a remote location.