Cloud computing allows users to release their computers to the cloud, scaling services instantly as needed and saving money compared to maintaining physical computing infrastructure. It gets its name from using the cloud as a metaphor for the internet, where computing tasks and data are executed and stored remotely in large data centers that users access as services over the internet. Popular benefits of cloud computing include scalability where services can instantly scale up or down as needed, being instant in responding to increased demand, and saving money by avoiding the costs of owning physical computing hardware and infrastructure.