Cloud Hosting is the term used when the data (programmes and actual information) is held on servers (hard discs) that are located somewhere else and accessed by the Internet. In years gone by everything was held on your computer – mainly because the access to the internet was too slow and unreliable.
Now more and more is held on these virtual servers. The advantages are the back ups of your information held safety away from the actual computer, although this might be seen as an issue for security but generally it is safer than held on your own computer.