Shifting to the cloud is a fundamental step in the digitalisation of businesses, and it is gaining steam. In 2021, the cloud system infrastructure services (IaaS) segment is forecast to grow by almost 27 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, while the public cloud services market as a whole may hit an 18.4 percent growth rate.
However, the success of cloud adoption depends heavily on whether the cloud deployment model is right for the business, as it will dictate how the business stores and interacts with their data and applications. There are typically three types of available cloud models: public, private or hybrid.
Public Cloud
A public cloud environment is built on IT infrastructure services belonging to cloud giants such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure. Users access the data in the cloud via the public Internet, which means that multiple ‘tenants’ can be using the cloud at the same time.
Besides the base fee, public cloud providers (PCPs) offer modular features such as application modernisation or cloud storage on a pay-per-use system, allowing businesses to scale their use and costs as necessary. But as the PCPs control the features and service parameters, businesses may have a lesser degree of control and customisation.
This cloud model may be best suited for cloud-native startups who need to scale quickly yet have limited resources and expertise.
Private Cloud
A private cloud is exclusively used by a single business. The cloud is established within the business’s own data centre and can only be accessed through their intranet or virtual private network (VPN). This provides users with more complete control, visibility and customisation ability, as well as enhanced security.
As cloud management and maintenance becomes the sole responsibility of the business, this requires higher upkeep costs and resource usage. This can be mitigated by offloading day-to-day monitoring and upkeep to experienced managed service providers (MSPs), which ensures that the cloud is well-managed and optimised while enabling in-house IT teams to prioritise other critical tasks.
Larger enterprises and institutions that require a secured environment that meets regulatory standards – such as banks – may prefer this cloud model.
Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud is a single, consolidated IT environment that incorporates services from public clouds, private clouds, and on-premises infrastructure, which are connected via local area networks (LANs) or VPNs. This may involve merging at least one private cloud and one public cloud, or even merging two or more public clouds.
The flexible nature of the hybrid model allows businesses to move workloads between clouds more easily and have more control over their data. Unsurprisingly, it is popular among enterprises and may be best suited for those digitally transitioning from pure on-premises solutions, but there are many variants of hybrid deployments to choose from.
Key decision-making factors
Cost can vary significantly by cloud model, which is why businesses must ensure that their chosen cloud aligns with their budget. Public clouds have subscription and hosting fees, private clouds incur maintenance and upkeep costs, and hybrid clouds have a combination of the two. But these costs can also minimise costs incurred elsewhere, so businesses must evaluate accordingly.
Data security and compliance needs are also important considerations. The private cloud model offers the best control and visibility but requires the right experts to oversee. Public clouds are compliance-certified but can be accessed by multiple users. Some businesses may also need to take local data regulations into account, especially those with multinational operations, when choosing a cloud.
Choosing the right cloud with the help of MSPs
Choosing the right cloud for your business can be a daunting decision because it is a significant commitment and can have a large impact.
At Cloud Kinetics, we can provide cloud assessment and consultation services to ensure that all your business needs are met with the most suitable cloud model for you.
Once you’ve made a decision; we can even oversee the seamless cloud migration and integration of your systems to and with the cloud, as well as undertaking other cloud-managed services based on your requirements. Speak to us today.
