No prior cloud account or programming experience is required.
About this course
Build a foundation in cloud service models, virtualization and infrastructure choices with this free IBM video course. The selected explainers cover SaaS, IaaS, PaaS and FaaS alongside virtual servers, hypervisors and dedicated hosts. The course also introduces migration, distributed cloud and data-center tradeoffs.
What you can learn
- Cloud service models
- Virtualization
- Virtual private clouds
- Virtual servers
- Cloud migration concepts
- Infrastructure tradeoffs
Course at a glance
| Provider | IBM |
|---|---|
| Platform | YouTube · IBM Technology |
| Access | Free Video |
| Level | Beginner — WikiFree audience assessment |
| Language | English |
| Selected lessons | 66 |
| Video duration | 8h 29m · allow extra time for reflection and practice |
| Details checked | 9 October 2026 |
Inside the course
Compare service models and public-cloud concepts before looking inside virtualized infrastructure. Explore cloud shells, migration and distributed environments, then consider dedicated hardware and energy-related data-center decisions.
Try this learning exercise
For a fictional small business, compare using a hosted application, a managed development platform and a virtual server. List the responsibilities the business retains under each option and one reason to choose it.
How to follow the course
Choose a lesson from the list or search for a specific topic. Use Previous and Next to continue, and mark lessons complete as you go. Progress is saved in this browser without a WikiFree account.
Each course retains its relevant lessons, including videos also used in another course. Numbered series follow their original lesson or part order. Only reviewed advertisements, unrelated items and identical repeated playlist entries are excluded. Source recordings may have been made at different times.
Unavailable recordings are listed in Course content. Known lesson titles are retained; when the source hides a title or position, this is stated explicitly. Unavailable videos are not included in the video duration.
Free access, requirements and certificates
The selected public YouTube videos are free to watch. No paid subscription, payment card or examination is required for this video learning path. WikiFree independently organizes IBM Technology explainers and tutorials for self-paced study. This listing is not an official IBM qualification and does not include an IBM certificate, graded assignment or instructor feedback.
No prior cloud account or programming experience is required. This is a conceptual introduction; vendor interfaces and commercial terms may differ from older recordings.
Official IBM Technology playlist source ↗
Use this course in a learning path
- Free Cloud Architecture Foundations Learning PathCourse resource in this path
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Beginner - Compare another approachFree Azure Cloud Computing Course for Beginners
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Beginner
Compare course focus, level and study time
| Course | Level | Focus | Study time |
|---|---|---|---|
| This course — Free Cloud Computing Course: Services and Virtualization | Beginner | Cloud service models · Virtualization · Virtual private clouds | 8h 29m of video; practice time is additional |
| Google Cloud Computing Foundations: Infrastructure in Google Cloud | Beginner | Cloud storage literacy · Database option comparison · API concepts | 8 hours 30 minutes; provider full-course estimate, including practical activities. |
| Free Azure Cloud Computing Course for Beginners | Beginner | Explain cloud computing in plain language · Understand Azure at a conceptual level · Connect cloud services with application needs | 9m of video; practice time is additional |
| Free Simplilearn Course: Cloud Infrastructure, Virtualization and Operations | Beginner | Virtualization · Cloud Operations · Service Models | 59m of video; practice time is additional |
Provider: IBM. Videos play from the IBM Technology channel on YouTube.
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