No two businesses are alike, so it stands to reason that their cloud needs will differ just as their industry, compliance standards, and daily operations differ. When you’re deciding on your company’s cloud solutions, you should be as informed as possible about what options are available to you. Chances are you’ll be deciding whether you should move to the cloud at all, and what will suit your business best between public clouds, private clouds, and hybrid solutions. Read on to learn about some of the differences, benefits, and drawbacks of each.
What is a Public Cloud?
A public cloud is a cloud service offered to many users, or clients, by a third party. The provider offers access to several computing resources, including storage and software applications off-premises. Some of these resources are free and others are available under premium subscription models.
Benefits of a Public Cloud
A public cloud is like a product that comes ready to use out of the box. You don’t need to install or purchase software, and the hardware you already have is all you need. Third-party providers typically have the resources to meet your evolving needs, and public clouds can scale according to an increase in usage and storage.
Drawbacks of a Public Cloud
Most smaller businesses don’t have the cloud engineering expertise needed to design, build and maintain their public cloud environment. Public clouds are sometimes considered less secure than private options. Additionally, public, off-site clouds aren’t open to a lot of customization. If your business needs a customized cloud environment, you’ll want to consider options beyond the public cloud.
What is a Private Cloud?
A private cloud is a cloud system where all computing resources, like software and storage, belong to a single client exclusively. Resources are dedicated to a business and its private network. This includes servers and other on-site hardware.
Benefits of a Private Cloud
The main benefits of going with a private cloud are security, customization, and vendor relationship.. When your computing resources like apps and storage are segregated from others, you reduce the risk of breach. Private hosting further increases your privacy and security. When you employ a private cloud solution, you can customize your cloud to meet your specific business needs. Private clouds can be hosted and managed for you by providers who are independent of the giant tech companies. You get peace of mind knowing you have access to the team responsible for managing your cloud environment.
Although private clouds are sometimes thought to be more costly than public clouds, in fact, private clouds can be extremely cost competitive.
Drawbacks of a Private Cloud
You need to do a little more due diligence in selecting your provider. It is generally accepted that the giant public clouds are secure and reliable. You’ll need to find a private cloud provider that is SOC 2 Type 2 audited by a certified accounting firm, provides a strong service level agreement, and has an adequate cyber insurance policy.
What is Hybrid Cloud?
As you might expect, a hybrid cloud is a combination of public and private cloud computing. In a hybrid cloud system, you can blend certain storage and application elements from a public cloud with elements of a private cloud and your existing on-site infrastructure.
Benefits of Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid cloud adoption is growing, and more companies are seeing the benefits of choosing a hybrid solution. Main benefits of hybrid cloud include flexibility, security, and value from using your existing infrastructure. Hybrid cloud lets you move sensitive data on-premises or to a private cloud while making applications and services accessible on the public cloud to remote employees.
Drawbacks of Hybrid Cloud
Like a private cloud solution, hybrid cloud may require an investment in hardware and on-site infrastructure. By blending public and private models, there is an increase in complexity, which requires an increase in specialized support.
Which Cloud is Right for Your Business?
Your business has unique needs and will need a unique cloud solution. It’s important to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each and consider what option might best suit your business. Whether public, private, or a hybrid blend, there’s a cloud solution out there for your business. Get in touch with Ascent Data to learn more about the Cloud as it relates to your business. We offer managed cloud solutions hosted in our own SOC2 audit data center. Our private cloud is a safe, reliable solution for businesses just like yours!
