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Cloud, security, and infrastructure are connected layers of business IT, not competing alternatives. Infrastructure supplies computing resources such as networks, servers, and storage; cloud services make configurable resources available over a network; and security and governance guide how the organization protects and manages data and services across those layers.
What each part of business IT does
Infrastructure supplies the underlying resources
Infrastructure includes the physical or virtual computing resources that systems rely on, including networks, servers, and storage. Software and abstraction layers organize those resources and present them for use by applications or as services. Cloud depends on this foundation; it does not make the underlying infrastructure disappear. NIST’s Cloud Computing Reference Architecture provides a common framework for describing cloud components and offerings.
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Cloud makes resources available as services
NIST defines cloud computing as “a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.” The definition comes from NIST SP 800-145, published in September 2011; NIST’s record was updated in May 2026. Its taxonomy identifies five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models. These are categories for understanding cloud, not measures of performance or adoption.
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Security is not a separate product or a task that ends when a workload moves to the cloud. It concerns the data, applications, infrastructure, identities, and connections involved, including how those resources are configured and governed. NIST’s SP 800-144, a December 2011 publication, discusses security and privacy challenges in public cloud computing and considerations for organizations that outsource data, applications, or infrastructure.
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How cloud service models divide the work
NIST’s three service models describe different ways of delivering cloud capability. They are useful for comparing what a provider operates and what the customer must configure or manage. A model name alone does not specify every responsibility: the actual service, its configuration, integration, and applicable obligations matter.
| Service model | What it describes | What to examine |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS (software as a service) | Cloud software offered for use as a service. | How the service is configured, how it handles organizational data and identities, and how it connects to other systems. |
| PaaS (platform as a service) | A cloud platform on which customers can build or run applications. | Which platform components the provider operates and which application, data, and configuration decisions remain with the organization. |
| IaaS (infrastructure as a service) | Cloud access to configurable infrastructure resources. | How the organization manages the resources it uses, secures its workloads, and integrates them with existing systems. |
These descriptions are broad categories, not a universal responsibility chart. NIST identifies the models but does not establish one service model as best for every organization. Compare options by the stack the provider operates, the controls the customer can configure, the integration required, and the security, privacy, and governance work that remains.
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Deployment models describe who uses the cloud environment
NIST identifies four deployment models. They describe how an environment is organized and used; the label does not guarantee a particular level of security.
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- Community cloud: An environment for organizations with shared concerns or requirements.
- Public cloud: An environment made available for use by the public.
- Hybrid cloud: A composition of distinct cloud environments connected to support data or application portability.
When comparing deployment choices, ask who uses the environment, where it is operated, and how it connects to existing systems. The operational arrangement and its controls matter more than assuming that a model name is itself a security measure.
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What shared responsibility means in practice
Cloud security work is distributed, but the split depends on the service and the way it is used. In a November 2023 submission to NIST, AWS described its provider perspective this way: the provider protects the infrastructure it delivers, while the customer selects services and configures and manages them to achieve security outcomes. AWS also said customer responsibility varies with the services selected, their integration, and applicable laws and regulations. This is AWS’s description in a submission, not a NIST rule or a universal chart for all cloud providers.
For a real workload, consult the provider’s responsibility documentation for the specific service, then identify the organization’s remaining decisions. In particular, establish who configures each control, who monitors it, and how the service’s data and connections fit the organization’s security and privacy requirements.
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Use governance to connect technical choices to business risk
Cloud decisions affect more than IT operations: they can involve data handling, third-party services, supply chains, and organizational risk. NIST announced Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 on February 26, 2024, expanding its intended audience to organizations in any sector and emphasizing governance and supply chains. CSF 2.0 is broad guidance for managing cybersecurity risk, not a cloud architecture or a technical configuration guide.
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Use that governance perspective to bring the right questions into planning: what information and services are involved, which providers and integrations support them, who is accountable for decisions and controls, and how the organization will oversee risk over time. NIST’s SP 800-146, published in May 2012, offers additional cloud-computing background for organizations evaluating adoption.
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A practical way to evaluate a cloud service
- Map the workload. Identify its applications, data, infrastructure dependencies, users, and connections to existing systems.
- Classify the service. Determine whether the offering is SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS, and what the provider operates versus what the organization can configure.
- Understand the deployment. Establish who uses the environment, where it is operated, and how it connects to other environments or systems.
- Assign controls and accountability. Check the provider’s documentation for the exact service, and identify the customer-side configuration, monitoring, and governance tasks.
- Review organizational risk. Consider security, privacy, integration, supply-chain, and applicable legal or regulatory requirements before relying on the service.
The NIST cloud publications and AWS submission cited here were published between 2011 and 2023, while NIST announced CSF 2.0 in 2024. Use them to understand the concepts and planning questions; verify current service capabilities, configurations, and responsibility details in the documentation for the specific provider and service being considered.
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