3 Types of Cloud – Which one is good for your business?

We love cloud. When considering cloud applications, businesses now have various options, and understanding the differences between different types of cloud can help you make a right decision when it comes to choosing the cloud solution for your company.

There are three types of cloud services: public, private, and hybrid.

Public Cloud

The public cloud uses the Internet to connect customers and services, providing easy, inexpensive access to software and storage.

Examples of public cloud applications include all Google app (such as the Google AppEngine), Amazon Simple Storage Service, Salesforce.com, and others. This option can be a good fit for smaller businesses and companies without an IT staff. However, some organizations hesitate to put highly sensitive data or proprietary files into public cloud applications. The main reason for their worries is the possibility that their data may not be secure. While this may be a concern, most modern cloud providers make security a top priority and even make their security protocols accessible for public review.

Private Cloud

Larger organizations that are particularly worried about security may choose a private cloud. A private cloud is operated exclusively for a single organization within their firewall to restrict access to business data. In addition to providing greater security for the information, a private cloud allows an organization to easily customize their applications and data. The downside is that it requires significant, typically in-house IT resources to set up and operate the private cloud solution.

Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud infrastructure uses a combination of public and private cloud solutions to deliver the advantages of each. For example, you might put sensitive production data on an application in a private cloud to maximize security and then archive less critical data on a public cloud service to take advantage of the less expensive storage solutions. In the private cloud environments your business will have to pay for the infrastructure and operational costs.  Hybrid clouds can also provide more cost-effective scalability. Your business can take advantage of the computing and storage resources you typically need on the private cloud without investing into more than you need. Instead, you pay for extra resources on the public cloud as you use them.

Are you keeping your business data safe?

How is your state of IT? Call Us: (855) 551-7760 with any questions.