Public Cloud Vs. Private Cloud: How To Choose

Cloud computing has existed for nearly two decades and has grown in popularity among IT and business professionals over the years.

 Businesses are more aware than ever before that cloud computing is the way of the future and want to incorporate it into their operations.

Public cloud services from Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and others are seeing a major rise in usage as the pandemic validates the necessity for the cloud. According to Gartner, this trend will continue, with public cloud services expected to rise by more than 18% in 2021 and continue to grow at a steady rate through 2024.

What is the Cloud?

The cloud, in simple terms, is a collection of servers that host databases and software and are accessible over the Internet. These servers are spread across the globe in data centres. Businesses can reduce the need for duties like server maintenance and administration by using cloud computing. Cost-effectiveness, security, ease of management, scalability, and reliability are all advantages of cloud platforms.

The epidemic of COVID-19 has accelerated cloud migration. Many businesses have already made the switch to cloud platforms and are seeing increased productivity and profitability, and others are starting to gradually shift.

What's the bottom line? Digital transformation and cloud migration are critical in today's complex business world.

What is a Private Cloud?

A private cloud is one in which the servers are owned by and dedicated to only one business (referred to as the user or tenant). A private cloud can be developed on-premises, using hardware that you control and operate, or hosted by a third party in a data centre. The fact that the servers are inaccessible to other users is the most important distinguishing feature.

The owner is in charge of server management and maintenance, as well as future capacity and performance planning to suit organisational needs. Long lead times are frequently required for provisioning extra hardware and services (power, broadband, cooling, and so on) to satisfy future demand. It's popular among businesses that manage sensitive data and value the adaptability and scalability it provides.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Private Cloud

A private cloud, like any other technology, has advantages and disadvantages. A private cloud can provide a better level of security and service to industries with highly specialised demands, such as government and defence. Companies outside of these areas may nevertheless benefit from a private cloud if they have data-intensive customers in highly secure fields.

Here are some other vital advantages that are offered by the private cloud:

• Security- Since organizations can physically secure their servers and access data through private networks, private clouds provide a high level of security.
• Control- Private clouds give businesses the freedom to control their data and customize their core architecture as they want. It also makes monitoring easy and effective.
• Customization and Reliability- The private cloud allows organisations to customize the components of their infrastructure in order to improve performance. Private clouds can also be trusted and are incredibly reliable.
• Performance- Public clouds suit companies with powerful computing needs since they offer space for upgrading the infrastructure.
• Latency is Minimal- Because resources are closer to users, data stored in an on-premises private cloud may be served rapidly, avoiding latency (i.e. delays in data transfer).

Despite having a plethora of advantages, the private cloud has its own dark side. Here are some disadvantages of private clouds:

• Cost- Private clouds are expensive compared to public clouds. Components such as software licenses, hardware, network infrastructure, and labour costs contribute to the increased costs.
• Maintaining and Deploying- The business needs to hire a qualified team to maintain the infrastructure which increases the cost of operation. However, you can overcome this challenge by hiring a managed cloud service provider to do the heavy lifting.
• Limited Remote Access- Due to its security-first approach, remote access is limited, which tends to reduce performance in some cases

What is Public Cloud?

A public cloud is a cloud architecture provided by third-party cloud vendors via the public internet that shares resources among multiple unconnected tenants. This strategy allows businesses and developers to have affordable access to high-performance computers, storage, infrastructure, and software.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Cloud:

Using a public cloud as well as private cloud storage has advantages and disadvantages. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages can help you decide if the public cloud is right for you.

Here are some other vital advantages that are offered by the public cloud:

• Cost-Effective. In contrast to building a data centre, you do not need to invest money upfront to accommodate the public cloud; you can use a pay-per-use model.
• Fast setup: Most public cloud services are designed to be easy to start, though there are exceptions.
• Reliability. Public cloud platforms are reliable because backup data centres are always there in the event of failure.
• Scalability and stability – Public cloud services allow you to scale up and down as needed, and they are simple to set up and manage.

Here are some of the disadvantages and challenges you may face when using the public cloud:

• Security Limitations: This is the main concern for businesses that want to integrate cloud computing into their workflow.  Defence contractors and banks, for example, may require a higher level of security protection. A private cloud makes it easier to meet these security standards.
• Limited customization capabilities and poor technical support: The public cloud's multi-tenancy prevents users from personalising certain components. In addition, most public cloud providers provide inadequate or no technical support, which might limit performance.
• Latency: Most businesses don't care about fractions of a second, but in other industries, even little delays in transferring or retrieving data to and from the cloud can cause performance issues.

Hybrid Cloud

You don't have to choose between a private or public cloud; you can also adopt a hybrid cloud strategy. The presence of various deployment types (public or private) with some form of integration or orchestration between them is referred to as hybrid cloud.

A hybrid cloud makes sense in a number of situations:

• To improve disaster recovery time: A hybrid cloud is a solid solution for storing backups and using them in a disaster recovery situation for firms that value speed and dependability. In this case, the strategy is to have a "warm disaster recovery" service on standby in case of a calamity and then switch to it when needed.
• To comply with legal obligations: Some laws compel you to keep data within a certain geographical footprint. One method to achieve these needs is to use a hybrid cloud.
• For data-intensive tasks: Companies or departments that operate with significant amounts of large files, such as media and entertainment, can benefit from a hybrid cloud strategy. They can use on-premises technology to get fast access to huge media files and use a scalable, low-cost public cloud provider to store data that isn't accessed as frequently—archives and backups, for example.

Choose the Best Cloud Model for Your Needs

Both models have advantages and disadvantages and work differently in different contexts The most essential aspects in choosing a cloud for most businesses and organizations will be affordability, accessibility, reliability, and scalability. Your type of organisation, laws, budget, and future plans will determine whether a private or public cloud or a combination of both is the right answer for your needs. The good news is that there are numerous options to suit almost every use case or budget.

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