Cloud software vs installed software

Essentially, the fundamental difference between cloud vs on-premise software is where it resides. On-premise software is installed locally, on your business' computers and servers, where cloud software is hosted on the vendor's server and accessed via a web browser.

Cloud-based computing has three main components,

Software as a Service (SaaS),

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS),

Platform as a Service (PaaS).

Cloud computing applications are web-based so that you can access them through any browser having an internet connection. In a desktop application, you have to install some files to update it periodically whenever it prompts a message to update.