Industry standard
What is the NIST
definition of cloud?
NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) published the gold-standard definition of cloud computing. Used by organisations globally to evaluate, procure, and deploy cloud services. Learn how PeaSoup aligns with every NIST principle.
Understanding NIST
The NIST cloud standard explained
Published by Peter Mell and Timothy Grance, NIST SP 800-145 defines cloud computing as a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources.Why NIST definition matters
Trust: NIST is a US government agency. The standard is vendor-neutral and widely respected by enterprises, government agencies, and compliance bodies.
Procurement: When evaluating cloud providers, organisations use NIST as a benchmark. Alignment with NIST principles speeds up vendor evaluation and procurement processes.
Compliance: NIST alignment simplifies regulatory compliance and audit processes. Security and governance teams can reference NIST when designing cloud strategies.Five essential characteristics
The NIST cloud model: 5 principles
NIST defines cloud computing around five essential characteristics. These characteristics define what makes a service “cloud” and what organisations should expect.1. On-demand self-service
Provision resources automatically
Consumers can unilaterally provision computing capabilities like server time and storage as needed, automatically, without requiring human interaction with the service provider.
PeaSoup: Instant provisioning through our cloud portal. Scale up or down on demand, month-to-month, with no long-term contracts.
2. Broad network access
Access from anywhere
Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that support heterogeneous clients — mobile phones, tablets, laptops, workstations, and more.
PeaSoup: Access your infrastructure from anywhere via standard APIs, VPNs, and secure protocols. Works with any device or platform.
3. Resource pooling
Multi-tenant shared resources
Provider computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand.
PeaSoup: Efficient resource pooling with complete isolation between customers. No noisy neighbours. You get exactly what you need.
4. Rapid elasticity
Scale on demand
Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand. To consumers, available capabilities often appear unlimited.
PeaSoup: Scale from 1 server to 1,000+ instantly. Pay only for what you use. No capacity planning headaches.
5. Measured service
Transparent billing
Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use via metering at some level of abstraction. Resource usage is monitored, controlled, reported, and billed, providing transparency to both provider and consumer.
PeaSoup: Transparent, predictable billing based on actual usage. No hidden egress, ingress, or bandwidth charges. Pay-as-you-go.
PeaSoup & NIST
How PeaSoup delivers NIST cloud principles
PeaSoup aligns with every NIST characteristic. Our infrastructure, services, and support are built to meet and exceed NIST standards.IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
Dedicated virtual servers with full control. Provision instantly, scale elastically, pay for what you use. NIST IaaS definition in practice.
S3-compatible storage
On-demand object storage at any scale. UK-based, all-inclusive pricing, elastic scaling. NIST cloud storage principles.
Security & compliance
ISO 27001 certified. NCSC Cloud Security Principles aligned. All NIST security and governance principles implemented.
Backup & disaster recovery
On-demand recovery services. Ransomware-proof backup. Business continuity guaranteed. Elastic capacity, measured billing.
Efficient infrastructure
Liquid immersion cooling delivers 60% efficiency gains. Optimised resource pooling means better performance, lower costs.
Transparent pricing
No hidden fees. Measured billing based on actual usage. Month-to-month flexibility. 30% cheaper than on-premise alternatives.
ISO 27001 certified
Cyber Essentials Plus
G-Cloud supplier (2015+)
NCSC Cloud Security Principles
Ready for NIST-aligned cloud?
PeaSoup delivers every NIST cloud principle. Get started with infrastructure that’s trusted by enterprises, evaluated by government agencies, and built to meet global standards.