In enterprises, databases are used to collect, organize, and communicate data to executives and employees for operational and analytical applications. Generally speaking, cloud databases provide the same data processing, management and access capabilities as local cloud database
. Existing on-premises databases and the applications they support can often be migrated to the cloud.
Unlike traditional software licenses, pricing is based on system resource usage, which can be configured on-demand as needed to meet processing workloads. Alternatively, users can reserve a DB instance (typically for at least one year) to receive discounted pricing on regular workloads with consistent capacity requirements.
Organizations implementing databases in the public cloud can choose from two deployment models:
Self-managed database. This is an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) environment in which the database runs in a virtual machine on a system operated by a cloud provider. Providers manage and support cloud infrastructure, including servers, operating systems, and storage devices. However, the user organization is responsible for the deployment, administration, and maintenance of the database. Therefore, it is similar to an on-premises deployment with a DBA who retains full administrative control over the database.
Managed database service. A Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) environment is fully managed by the provider, either a cloud platform provider or another database provider running its cloud DBMS on the platform provider's infrastructure. In the DBaaS model, both the system infrastructure and the database platform are managed by the customer. The DBaaS provider handles configuration, backups, scaling, patching, upgrades, and other basic database management functions, while the DBA monitors the database and coordinates certain administrative tasks with the provider. Similar data warehouse-as-a-service (DWaaS) offerings are also available for cloud data warehouse deployments.
Additionally, some cloud providers—such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle—offer versions of DBaaS technology for installation in on-premises data centers as part of private clouds or combined public and hybrid cloud infrastructures. Private Cloud. As in a regular DBaaS environment, the provider deploys the database on its own systems and manages it for the customer, except that it delivers the system to the customer's data center and runs it there, then manages the database remotely.
