HelioCloud is a computing platform hosted in the AWS cloud that enables scientists to access and process heliophysics datasets using the familiar interface of Jupyter notebooks with the power of Dask clusters in an efficient and cost effective manner. With the intention of exposing the possibilities of high powered computing in the cloud to the Heliophysics community, HelioCloud is a perfect case study for reviewing the advantages and complexities of cloud computing platforms. Much like HelioCloud’s intention for the Heliophysics community, we will explore the matrix of configurations that are necessary for deploying, maintaining, and monitoring a cloud computing platform using visuals and language appropriate for all audiences. Further, after establishing this foundation of knowledge, we describe the advantages that define reason for virtually hosted platforms in sciences today.