One of the biggest business world buzz phrases over the past several years is, “migrating to the cloud.” More organizations are realizing the disadvantages that come with maintaining their own computer networks. From the buildup of expensive and bulky hardware to the expertise and expense required to maintain these legacy systems, it’s become apparent that there are significant advantages to outsourcing these processes. But migrating to the cloud requires some decision making. One of the most basic decisions is how to choose between public, hybrid or private cloud solutions. To help those looking to make the transition, we’ve put together a decision-making guide.
A public cloud is a virtual IT service provided by a third-party company that offers computing, data storage and application use to its customers via the internet. The space used to contain this computing power is simultaneously used by several different individuals and organizations. Ultimately, a public cloud has several distinct entities sharing the same infrastructure.
Public clouds are best for individuals and organizations who are looking to reduce operational costs and aren’t required to comply with restrictive regulatory stipulations regarding sensitive data. Because the public cloud infrastructure is shared, there is the possibility that it doesn’t meet the regulatory compliance rules of certain industries. While there’s little to no risk of data being mixed up with other organizations using the same public cloud, there is a slight risk of one user putting all other users in danger if they are subjected to a cyberattack.
A private cloud is a virtual IT service where all the computing processes, data storage and application use are limited to a single organization. Private clouds are often hosted and maintained by the organization that is using them, but these functions can also be outsourced to a third party. Ultimately, a private cloud is used by a single entity.
Private clouds are ideal for organizations that deal in sensitive information, are restricted by regulatory compliance or security rules and which have the resources to manage their own IT processes.
A hybrid cloud is a virtual IT service where the computing processes, data storage and application use occur in multiple environments. A hybrid cloud can make use of a combination of public and private clouds and/or on-premise computing infrastructure.
The use of a hybrid cloud is probably the most common scenario these days. The fact is that very few IT situations rely solely on public cloud computing. However, hybrid cloud computing is best for users who need flexibility in their computing processes. This may include organizations that deal in sensitive information but also deal in large amounts of public information that would be too costly to host on a private cloud. A hybrid cloud can also benefit private cloud users who occasionally need extra computing capacity. Many organizations use a hybrid cloud model by default when they migrate their systems from on-premise hardware to a public cloud.
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