Overview

The Department of Defense (DoD) has entered the modern age of warfighting where the battlefield exists as much in the digital world as it does in the physical. Data and our ability to process data at the ready are differentiators to ensure mission success. Cloud is a fundamental component of the global infrastructure that will empower the warfighter with data and is critical to maintaining our military's technological advantage.

Cloud Computing, also known as “cloud” or “the cloud”, is a form of computing services offered over a network, hosted by a third party and typically under a usage-based fee consumption model. The term evolved in the 1990s from drawings of an internet connection referred to as a cloud-like diagram on patent applications. Since then, the term has been used to refer to almost any collection of computing or hosted services offered over an internet connection. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) accurately defines what cloud computing is, the terminology, and other aspects as used by the federal government. 
 
For more information, look at The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing website
To see how the DoD is implementing cloud across the department, look at the DoD Cloud Strategy.