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LifestyleA Practical Introduction to Cloud Computing (Udemy.com)
Cloud Computing made simple with real world practical examples
Created by: Neil Anderson
Last updated April 2021
Our take
Based on the ratings of 41,365 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in April 2021. No course pays to be reviewed.
A free, two and a half hour explainer on what cloud computing actually is, aimed at IT staff and managers who keep hearing the term and want a straight answer. Neil Anderson starts with on premises and colo, then virtualisation, then works through the essential characteristics, IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, deployment models, and a TCO spreadsheet comparison. There are 20 lectures and five quizzes, and around 228,000 people have enrolled. It asks only for basic networking knowledge, and reviewers confirm that a newcomer can follow it without trouble.
Reviewers praise the structure and pace. Students say it builds in blocks without piling on complexity, and one was relieved the delivery never turns into an auction. The complaints cluster in a few places. The intro music is far louder than the narration, and one lecture on colo has quiet audio. The quizzes get called ambiguous, and a couple of reviewers felt it wanders beyond an intro, one calling it heavy on the VM side. The bigger issue: the demos are old. The PaaS lab uses IBM Bluemix, and the last update was April 2021, so expect older consoles. One two-star review calls the material obsolete, and a four-star reviewer wishes it used modern tools.
For a free course, that is a fair trade. The concepts it teaches, service models, deployment models, cost comparison, have not changed, and the walkthroughs are there to show the shape of a cloud console rather than today's buttons. It is a quick primer rather than a path to any certification, so treat it as the reading you do before an Azure or AWS course, not instead of one. Anyone who wants current tooling should pair it with something newer. Anyone who wants the vocabulary explained well in an afternoon gets exactly that.
Pros
- Builds from on premises and colo through virtualisation to cloud, so the why is clear before the what
- Well paced delivery that reviewers say does not pile on complexity
- Free, and finishable in a single afternoon at 2.6 hours across 20 lectures
- Ends with a practical TCO spreadsheet comparing on premises against cloud costs
Cons
- Last updated April 2021 and the PaaS demo uses IBM Bluemix, so the tooling looks dated
- Intro music is much louder than the narration, and one colo lecture has quiet audio
- Quiz questions are described as ambiguous, and one reviewer wanted more examples
For someone new to the subject matter, the course was very informative, with the course material presented in a structured, systematic, building block approach.
Genuinely beginner: only basic networking knowledge is assumed, and the stated audience includes decision makers as well as IT staff.
What you will learn
- Accurately define what Cloud Computing is and is not
- Understand how Cloud Computing differs from traditional IT deployment models
- Understand the building blocks of Cloud Computing
- Define IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and XaaS and understand how they differ from each other
- Understand the IaaS options including virtual machines on shared physical servers, virtual machines on dedicated servers, and dedicated bare-metal servers
- Deploy a virtual machine on Amazon Web Services IaaS
- Deploy an application on IBM Bluemix PaaS
- Give examples of SaaS services they have already signed up for
- List the advantages of Cloud Computing over traditional deployment models
- Perform a TCO cost comparison between an On Premises or Cloud deployment for a real world IT workload
Course content
7 sections · 20 lectures · 2.6 hours of video 5 quizzes, 2 articles
- 1How to Make the Most of this Course 1 free preview3 lectures · 7 min
- 2A (Very) Brief History of Traditional IT Deployments2 lectures · 1 quiz · 29 min
- 3Defining Cloud - Essential Characteristics6 lectures · 1 quiz · 36 min
- 4Cloud Service Models - IaaS, PaaS and SaaS6 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.1 hours
- 5Cloud Deployment Models - Public, Private and Hybrid Cloud1 lecture · 1 quiz · 10 min
- 6Advantages of Cloud Computing and Calculating TCO1 lecture · 1 quiz · 11 min
- 7Bonus!1 lecture
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Any decision maker or IT professional who needs an easy to understand explanation of Cloud Computing
What you need before you start
- A basic foundational level knowledge of computer networks
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 88 / 100
Course Description
The 2nd top hit for 'Cloud Computing' on Google says 'Cloud computing is a general term for the delivery of hosted services over the internet.' Unfortunately, that definition is completely wrong.
This course is designed to clear up the many misunderstandings about Cloud Computing and to give you a crystal clear and easy to understand explanation of exactly what it is, how it works, the different options available, the advantages provided and how much it's going to cost.
And I'm not just going to give you the theory, I'm going to show you practical examples which you can follow along with yourself so you'll understand exactly how Cloud Computing works in the real world.
I start off with a review in Module 1 of the traditional deployment models of On Premises and Colo so you can understand how Cloud changes things, then explain how server virtualisation revolutionised data center design and paved the way for Cloud.
Module 2 defines Cloud Computing by listing the Essential Characteristics of Cloud services.
You'll learn about the Cloud Service Models of IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and XaaS in Module 3. I start with an overview of the different models and then dive deep into the details and options of each. I also give lab demos of how to deploy each type.
The Cloud Deployment Models of Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud and Community Cloud are covered in Module 4.
Finally in Module 5 I list out the advantages of Cloud Computing and then break out the spreadsheet to show you how to do a TCO cost comparison when choosing between an On Premise or Cloud deployment for a real world workload.
A verifiable course certificate stating you have completed this training will be provided at the end of the course. This will prove to potential future employers that you have the basic cloud knowledge necessary to be an effective member of their IT team, and the motivation to complete further training and be a real asset to their company.
As a student in this course, you will get an answer to every question you ask in the Ask Question section. I love interaction with my students- anything you want to know, please ask.
Thank you for taking the time to read about the course. I hope you now have enough motivation to get into the learning right away. If so, click the Enroll Now button at the top of the page to get started!
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Instructor Details
- 4.4 Rating
41,365 Reviews
Neil Anderson
Hi, I'm Neil Anderson, and my mission is to build the best Cloud and Data Center systems engineers possible.
I dropped out of school with no qualifications or future plans at the age of 15. When I got a little bit older and wiser I realised I should make a career for myself so I pulled myself up by learning about IT technologies through books and online resources. It’s my passion now to help you do the same.
You know how some instructors seem to get a kick out of making things complicated to make themselves look smarter than you? I love to make things as easy to understand as possible and seeing you get that lightbulb moment.
I'm proud of my 'Top Responder' tag on Udemy and unless I'm on an international flight I'll personally answer your questions within 24 hours. I genuinely care about giving you the best experience possible, both in the quality of my training and in ongoing support.
Nothing makes me feel better than hearing back from students who I've helped move on to the next level in their career. It gives me huge satisfaction to know I've played a part in you achieving your goals.
My experience:
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Reviews
By Vakacharla Lokesh on 7/28/2026
The teachings were on point and the only reason i didnt give a higher rating is because the technology has changed a lot and using modern tools would have given better insight to cloud computing.
By Roger Spondike on 7/27/2026
For someone new to the subject matter, the course was very informative, with the course material presented in a structured, systematic, building block approach. Also appreciated the tempo and speed of delivery. Too often I've been in course where I think I took a wrong turn into an auction house. Very well done, and thank you!
By Steven Cochrane on 6/30/2026
The volume is too low on some of the slides referring to the COLO lecture. It would have to be leveraged by increasing the volume on the laptop. This where the volume on Udemy will not make much difference.
By Christopher Getchell on 6/24/2026
This course provided deeper insight into the cloud environment. While I was knowledgeable of cloud architectures, this has given me a more thorough understanding. Only thing I would change about the course are the questions used in the quiz. I recommend stating the questions more clearly as they are ambiguous, a bit misleading and appear to focus on Stump-the-chump vice verifying the information was retained.
By Samdonald on 6/10/2026
Essentials are covered! Best for Beginners who getting started with cloud computing. Trainer did a great job explaining almost everything about cloud. Thank you!
By Ceshu on 5/1/2026
The intro is so irritating, As the volume is little higher in the lectures; whenever I start a new lesson the intro sound makes irritated every time. Thats the only concern otherwise the program is lit.
By Natanaiah Kist on 2/6/2026
The content and the instructor are great! But some videos/parts of it are with low volume and it's hard to listen. The opening sound is too loud compared to the instructor's voice.
By Scott Marino on 1/28/2026
I found the content very good. Only issue I found was the voice volume changed in some videos. Sometimes it was loud and sometimes it was lower. Instructions for the volume settings were followed as well.
By Nishith Bhatia on 12/15/2025
Neil has explained the concepts in such a way that they are quite easy to understand. Secondly, he has provided a background before the cloud computing the era that makes it easy to relate the shift towards cloud computing
By Iván Ariel Weinberg on 11/24/2025
So far so good, this is a refreshe for me that has been included on a learning path at work. As an overall recommendation, it would be great if you could normalize the volume on your lectures as it sometimes varies within the same video. Thank you very much! I enjoyed the course very much.
- Video Duration:
2.6h - Price: Free 11.99 Track Price
- Provider: Udemy
- Updated:
April 2021 - Level:
Beginner - Language:
English - Certificate:
No - Lectures:20 in 7 sections
- Practice:5 quizzes
- Students:228,500
- Subtitles:27 languages
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