Cloud technology means storing and processing data on other people’s computers in a data center via a network that gives companies the ability to store massive amounts of data and process it in nearly real-time.

Cloud service providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft allow companies to host all vital IT infrastructure in their cloud rather than within an organization's digital walls reducing overhead costs to maintain and operate individual systems, software and data. Rather than send every piece of information collected by cameras, scanners, handheld terminals or sensors to the cloud to be processed, edge devices carry out some or all of the processing themselves, at the source where the data is collected.

The main advantages of cloud technology:

1) Flexibility

2) Elasticity

3) Cost optimization

4) Information can be shared in seconds