- Why is Cloudinary required?
Note: I wouldn't say required exactly, but why I've chosen this service.
Basically, Cloudinary allows you to easily upload images to the cloud and automate smart manipulation.
- What is the server-side part used for besides hosting?
it is possible to see just a simple image upload preset
To understand better, let's see how the Cloudinary services work:

Basically, the user uploads an image and requests the Cloudinary service on the browser. Then, It is converted into a dynamic URL. With that, I'm able to:
- Optimize and handle a very high rate of uploads, downloads, and complex image transformations
- Store and manage it in a high-performance, supporting fast upload, and download rates.
- Access with security (HTTPS)

I wish I could tell more! But it's part of the next Edite features. I hope you understand 😊
Note: If it still not answering your questions, feel free to ask again.