What does this mean?
Does it imply that
No. For web applications, we need a browser on the client side and an HTTP server on the server side.
This server delivers a static HTML page, and then it goes back to sleep. All further content is loaded via a WebSocket connection, not HTTP.
This makes it clear that neither the web applications, the application server, nor databases, microservices, etc., need to be installed in the cloud. The browser receives all information, be it HTML, JavaScript, stylesheets, images, or other files, from the node network. And this network is often not in the cloud but distributed across the locations of the website operator.
Nodes can certainly be operated in the cloud, but they do not require it. The asynchronous messaging between nodes is optimized for speed and data efficiency. Therefore, nodes can operate off the main data highways.
This equips them with new options. You can use various databases at different locations. You can integrate decentralized machines and local software APIs into the network.
Your web applications will generally be distributed. This means that each dialog and each group of widgets runs in its own plugin on different nodes. Distribution is then determined by the local availability of data. Or by the work locations of the teams that create and maintain individual dialogs. Distributed, decentralized, independent.
Example:
At location A, your customers' personal data is processed and stored. There is a corresponding database there. The many dialogs of your application dealing with customer data, addresses, bank connections, personal settings, etc., are also developed and hosted there.
Employees at location B handle orders, contracts, terms, etc. They also operate databases and develop dialogs related to order management.
The dunning department and debt collection are handled at location C.
You get the idea.
This distribution is not apparent to your application in the browser.
However, you benefit greatly from it.
Separate development, deployment, rapid advancement, team independence, time-to-market, low costs,
while still scaling and ensuring resilience with a node network.