There has been a lot of hype and uncertainty around the word 'cloud'. In past few years, the word 'cloud' has been tossed around wherever you go, no matter what type of technology you stumble across.

Cloud can be explained in several ways, however broadly speaking, cloud means that you are hosting your business-critical data over the Internet.

For instance, let's say you earlier had your own set of few servers placed in a small server room within your office premises. These servers would not be categorized as cloud, as they are placed within your network and not hosted over the Internet. However, if you shift your servers to virtual server platform over the Internet, within a secured environment of data center, then you can categorize those servers as 'cloud servers.'

Cloud servers are very powerful virtual environments formed within a very robust cluster of servers. Cloud servers offer umpteen benefits that are not offered within a dedicated server.

Before digging into more details, let's first weigh up the difference between a dedicated server and a cloud server.

As described above, a cloud server is a virtual instance or virtual machine built within a dynamic cluster of servers. Hence in this case, you will be sharing computing power with other cloud servers. However, an appropriately configured cloud has oodles of resources and power available, so running out of resources is typically not a matter of concern.

While a dedicated server means you have a dedicated machine assigned just for your usage, hosted either at a highly secure data center environment or in an area within your facility.

Some of the key myths and real facts about Cloud Server hosting are:

Myth: Cloud is a fad and nothing more.

Real Fact: Cloud is a new catchword of the era, however the notion of cloud computing has been around since the late nighties. The Internet itself hypothetically signifies cloud computing. Cloud computing is here to stay for long. Gartner Research forecasts that by the end of 2014, more than 80% of Fortune 1000 companies will be shifting gears to different models of cloud computing.

Myth: Cloud Server hosting is not secure.

Real Fact: In case, the cloud service provider has deployed low-end cloud computing software applications, then there are possibilities that some clouds may not be as secure as other clouds. A public cloud is multi-tenant, which means same network is used by multiple users. This can make a cloud less secure if there are abusers on the same network. It all comes down to service provider whom you choose to host your cloud with. Hence until now, security in the cloud has been just right, even on huge cloud environments.

Myth: The cloud is too multifaceted.

Real Fact: Cloud Servers are not intricate as compared to a dedicated or VPS server. In reality, cloud server hosting India is much easier to setup than dedicated servers, you can provision your server right away through a highly intuitive control panel.

Myth: The codes have to be rewritten in order to use cloud hosting provisions

Real Fact: Some of the cloud server hosting providers have built in intricate platforms that may require you to rewrite or modify your code for smooth functioning on the cloud. However, you need to look out for the service providers who have built in their cloud server just like a dedicated server, thereby allowing you to upload your code and website as effortlessly as you would upload it on any other hosting service.