Cloud computing relies on sharing computing resources over the internet rather than local servers. It provides software, platforms, and infrastructure as on-demand services with various advantages like lower costs, improved performance, and universal access, but also disadvantages like requiring constant internet and potential security and reliability issues. The document discusses concepts like cloud architecture, service models (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), storage types (public, private, hybrid cloud), and advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing.