Fiducia TogetherCloud computing
Using someone else's computers over a network, and the trade-offs.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Cloud computing provides storage, processing or software over the internet rather than on local hardware.
Where it applies
GCSE and A Level computer science, and it overlaps with business studies.
How it works
Advantages: access anywhere, no local hardware to buy or maintain, scalable, backed up by the provider. Disadvantages: needs a connection, ongoing cost, data held by a third party, and dependence on the provider staying available and solvent.
How to use it in your work
For any cloud question, give both sides and then judge for the specific scenario.
The security answer is nuanced and scores well: data may be better protected by a large provider than on a school server, and it is also outside your control.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification — the pseudocode and the required language differ between boards. Bitesize covers the concepts; the computer science song runs the topics.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The Computer Science Song The GCSE computer science topics, set to music.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.