The cloud offers many advantages for businesses. But many don’t understand the differences between the public cloud and private cloud. Without this understanding it’s difficult to know what’s best for your business.
Most people are thinking of the public cloud when they think of the cloud. For example, Apples iCloud is a public cloud service. Other Public Cloud services include Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google cloud. These services typically have a free version. However, you can upgrade by paying a monthly fee.
It is easy to store and access data on the cloud and this can enhance business productivity and efficiency. Some of the advantages of both the public and private cloud include:
Speed – It is possible to have cloud resources up and running in a matter of minutes.
Performance – Dedicated providers of cloud service run highly secure data centres with the very latest infrastructure. The providers take care of the setup of hardware, patching and ensuring the network is reliable.
Scalability – You can add to your capacity without having to buy expensive new equipment, or have specialists upgrade your existing infrastructure.
Mobility – Employees are able to access the cloud on any device from any location. This is especially important with the increase in home and remote working.
Disaster Recovery – Redundancy is built in by the provider to ensure that the service is not interrupted.
Responsibility – With a public cloud provision you won’t have to invest in on-site equipment, maintenance and management.
However, there are drawbacks to using the public cloud. The public cloud is relatively inexpensive because resources are shared between businesses. A public cloud provider relies on economies of scale. And the public cloud can be a risk, especially for those in industries with high compliance requirements.
Advantages of the Private Cloud
The private cloud has all the advantages of the public cloud and more.
A private cloud is dedicated solution for your business, with only your data on a dedicated server. This provides improved visibility, greater infrastructure control and enhanced security.
A private cloud can be either off-premise or on-premise. On premise the solution is setup, managed and maintained by your IT team. Off-premise, your infrastructure is kept in a data centre where it is configured and looked after by the cloud service provider.
Regulated industries, government agencies, tech companies or anyone needing robust security and controls should be looking at private cloud solutions. Private cloud may cost more, but it allows businesses to easily access data, applications, and backups, and provides reduced security risks.
Flexibility with a Hybrid Cloud Option
There is a third alternative: hybrid cloud. This is where a business utilises both public and private cloud. The business decides which data and apps need more security and put these on a private cloud. Meanwhile, the public cloud is available to offer cost savings and efficiency. It can also be a backup for sporadic traffic spikes.
In order to make the hybrid option work there needs to be strong integration between the different cloud solutions. Managing the mix of architectures can prove challenging.
Understanding the difference between these cloud offerings can help you choose the best for your business.
How We Can Help
If you are looking to move to the cloud we can help you decide on your best option, or even if the cloud is right for you. We are experts in migrating businesses to cloud solutions such as Microsoft365 or our cloud desktop solution.
Call us on 0115 8220200 or complete the Form on our contact page to get in touch with our cloud experts.
