Cloud Fundamentals
AWS
Azure
ChMS
Cloud
Overview
Really this is just some application or service that runs on someone else's Servers. M365 and Google Workspace are "cloud services" that give you productivity and collaboration tools. Azure is a cloud service that allows you to have Virtual Servers on Microsoft owned equipment (among other things). PCO (Planning Center Online) is a Church Management System that runs on servers PCO owns and operates. Hosting your website with something like Rackspace is technically cloud, even if you are paying for a "dedicated server" because you do not own or operate the physical equipment. The most typical models for delivery of Cloud services are SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS.
Database
Overview
A collection of information that can be used to create reports or share that information with other services. For instance, Church Management Systems contain data about users and other items and give that data to users in a web page to track activities and engagement. Typically these run on a Server or Cloud platform, like a SaaS solution.
ELP
Overview
Enable Learning Platform - a SaaS based Cloud program that provides video lessons on Microsoft software, Security Awareness training, other third party software, and custom created content to help train Enable employees, and our clients if they choose to pay for it.
Google Cloud Platform
Google Workspace
Overview
Google's version of Office 365 consisting of Gmail for email, Drive for "personal" file storage, Meet for meetings, "Team Drives" for collaborative file storage, similar apps to the Microsoft Office suite, and other components. This is a SaaS tool. This is used by many educational institutions, especially for those that use Google Classroom or Chrome Books.
IaaS
Overview
Infrastructure as a Service, you treat a "rented" section of someone else's hardware as your own. You can install your own Servers and other items, but do not maintain the underlying hardware. This is most often used to host Virtual Machines in The Cloud. This is a type of provided service purchased from your Cloud provider.
Identity Provider
Overview
AD/Active Directory and Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) are Microsoft/Windows based IdP (Identity Provider) Directories that provide a database of users and permissions and lives on a Windows Server, or in Azure (the Microsoft Cloud version of this that works with Microsoft 365). AD and other IdPs catalogue users, passwords, and what permissions users have once connected. This works on a "Domain" level. Your domain is the part of your email after the @. Everyone on the same domain uses a common Directory to log in. IDM (Identity Management) is the overarching term for managing these identities and satisfies the "User Management" section of they Cybersecurity Checklist.
MFA
Overview
Multi-factor authentication provides a more secure way of logging in that requires another piece of information beyond your password to make it much harder to have your account compromised. This works in conjunction with your IdP to secure access to your services and information. Most Enable clients are on M365 and should use Microsoft Authenticator as their primary MFA method. SMS (test message) and Email should not be used as MFA methods.
Microsoft 365
Overview
A Cloud-based group of Microsoft productivity, communication, and file storage tools including Word, Excel, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, email, SharePoint etc. Confusingly, Office 365 was both the former name of this entire group of products, and now an individual offering within the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem. This is a SaaS product.
tags: #services #Cloud #BasicTerms
Microsoft Teams
Overview
A collaboration dashboard. Microsoft is working to make this a "one stop app" for everything else you can do in their ecosystem. You can do chat, like iMessages, Posts, like a Facebook news feed, host meetings, like Zoom, and store files for departmental use. You can even use it as a Phone System. This is part of Microsoft 365.
OneDrive
Overview
ODFB - OneDrive for Business- Microsoft has a terrible history of naming things. OneDrive refers to both your personal business files storage space in the Microsoft 365 Cloud, and also to the tool that runs on your computer to synchronize any files that are in Teams/SharePoint to your computer. We must follow the "We vs Me" principal in file storage. If a file drives organizational goals, it should be stored in Microsoft Teams. If it affects me and only me, it belongs in OneDrive.
PaaS
Overview
Platform as a service - One example: Microsoft can provide a fully working database. You don't maintain the server, the database software, or the hardware, just the data and how you interact with it. Used to host virtual Database Servers and other things. This is a type of provided service purchased from your Cloud provider.
SaaS
Overview
Software as a Service - Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and PCO are examples. You get a service that is hosted on someone else's Servers. All hardware and upkeep for the platform are handled by the vendor, but you control your own data. This is a type of provided service purchased from your Cloud provider.
SSO
Overview
Single Sign On - the ability to use a single username and password to connect to multiple services. For instance, you can setup many ChMS or financial applications to work with your Microsoft 365 username and password so that your employees use this one user and password combination for multiple services. This is both more user friendly and much safer because we can use MFA and other policies to make this user interaction much harder to hack.
Sync Tool
Overview
Programs like OneDrive or Dropbox that store your files in the cloud and make them available on your devices. It is vitally important to understand that these are SYNCHRONIZATION tools, not backup tools. When you delete from one place (without following very specific steps) you delete that file everywhere.
tags: #BasicTerms #services #Cloud