Files That Live Somewhere Else
Many people keep their photos, documents, and backups in the cloud. We save things to the cloud and access them from any device. The word makes it sound mysterious, as if files are floating in the sky. But cloud storage has nothing to do with real clouds. It is a very practical idea, and once explained, it is easy to understand.
Storing Files the Old Way
Traditionally, you store files directly on your own device: on the hard drive inside a computer, or in the memory of a phone. This works, but it has limits. The device can only hold so much. If the device is lost, broken, or stolen, the files may be gone. And the files are stuck on that one device, so you cannot easily reach them from somewhere else. Cloud storage was created to solve these problems.
What the Cloud Really Is
Cloud storage means keeping your files not on your own device, but on powerful remote computers called servers. These servers are housed in large buildings called data centers, run by companies that provide the storage service. When you save a file to the cloud, a copy of it travels over the internet and is stored on those distant servers. The cloud is simply other people's computers, in another location, that you connect to.
Why It Is Useful
Storing files this way brings real advantages. Because the files live on the internet, you can reach them from any device that can connect, your phone, your laptop, anywhere. If your own device breaks, your files are still safe on the servers. The storage providers also keep multiple copies of your data, so a single hardware failure does not lose it. The main trade-off is that you need an internet connection to reach your files, and you are trusting a company to keep them safe.
Source
This article was written using information from Wikipedia.