Cloud computing involves delivering computing services over the internet. It evolved from concepts in the 1950s but was popularized by Amazon's AWS in 2006. There are two client-server models - centralized, where all resources are on a single server, and distributed, where each client is self-sustained. Cloud components include clients (mobile, thick, thin), distributed servers across datacenters, and a central server for administration. Common cloud services are SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, providing software, platforms, and infrastructure as a service. The cloud is popular due to reduced costs, customization, scalability, reliability, and security compared to local computing resources.