Companies are looking at private, public, and hybrid clouds to find the optimal infrastructure. There is no ideal model, it is a matter of individual choice. When choosing the right solution, you need to take into account: the scope of the business, the volume of data and their security requirements, the complexity of the equipment and the qualifications of IT specialists.
Let’s dwell on the pros and cons of each cloud model and what is the current trend in their choice.
Private cloud
A private cloud is an IT model that assumes the placement of all virtual resources on a physical server: your own or rented from a cloud provider.
A private cloud serves the interests of one company, its customers, and its contractors
- The advantages of this approach to work:
- full control and security of data storage;
- isolation and configurability of the system;
- long-term investment in equipment.
Minuses:
- the decision is expensive, it involves the purchase of equipment and its maintenance;
- deploying a private cloud is a complex and time-consuming process;
- there is no way to quickly increase power;
- you need your own staff of qualified IT workers.
Most often, large companies give preference to a private cloud, which have the resources to deploy it, need unique settings for specific business processes and have increased data security requirements.
Public cloud
The public cloud is the most affordable and popular way to store data. With this model, company information is stored in a large provider cloud along with other companies’ data, but at the same time it is isolated and protected from unauthorized access.
In a public cloud, each client receives a dedicated IT infrastructure from a common pool and manages it using a self-service panel
Public cloud advantages:
- ease of use: you pay for the rental of facilities and work;
- maximum convenience when hosting client applications with a large number of users;
- minimum costs: no need to purchase expensive equipment;
- quick start: you can start working immediately, without deploying your own infrastructure;
- fast scaling – increasing capacity during peak loads;
- no need for a large staff of IT specialists.
Among the cons are:
- standard data protection – not suitable for companies with increased security requirements;
- limited use of resources of foreign data centers, in accordance with the requirements of legislation;
- the risk of data loss in the event of a disaster and, accordingly, the cost of backup.
Public cloud is the best choice for startups that do not have the means to deploy a private cloud, enterprises with outdated equipment, companies with an extensive network of branches, where data is used simultaneously.
Hybrid cloud
A hybrid cloud is a symbiosis of the first two models, that is, some of the company’s IT resources are hosted in a private cloud, others in a public one. This approach, especially when using hyper-converged systems, provides both cost savings through the use of the public model and a high level of security in private.
Most often, companies store critical data in a private cloud, and backup data in a public one.
The advantages of a hybrid cloud are obvious:
- convenient environment for developing and testing applications;
- simple and fast scaling;
- optimal allocation of resources without overpayments;
- maintaining access to private cloud data in case of problems with the provider;
- flexibility – the ability to maneuver the location of the data;
- additional technical support from the provider.
Minuses:
- the cost of use is higher than that of the public model;
- the risk of increased attacks and data loss;
- the need for detailed design of the infrastructure and tracking of work – you need a staff of highly qualified IT specialists or additional costs for design with the involvement of a competent system integrator, for example, ITELON;);
- security of the public component according to the provider’s scheme;
- inability to track where the backup is being made.
What else you need to know about clouds
When planning the use of clouds, you need to understand what cloud services are in order to make the right choice in favor of a particular model of work. There are three options in use today: SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.