Public, Private Or Hybrid Cloud: What To Choose For A Company?

The Cloud, An Essential Technology

Cloud Computing is on the rise. It has recorded one of the most exponential growths in the IT sector for several years. And for a good reason. It is a real strategic point regarding digital transformation and data management. Offering greater flexibility and agility is becoming the preferred solution for many companies.

A Clear Vision For A Hassle-Free Migration

Migrating to a Cloud solution cannot be improvised. A clear and concise strategy must first be defined to avoid unnecessary costs and inefficient use of the cloud. Like many IT projects, the choice of your Cloud model will depend on your digital benefits and, more generally, on your needs.

Your requirements in terms of security and continuity of service
The sensitivity of your data
The services you want to outsource
Your need for flexibility to deal with variations in activity
The budget you have … (etc.)

By identifying these elements, you will have a clear vision of the solution that best suits your business. Then, it is necessary to look at the various cloud models (public, private, or hybrid) and their advantages.

What Is The Difference Between Public, Private, And Hybrid Clouds?

The Public Cloud

The public cloud is the format most commonly used by enterprises. All your data is stored on a server in a data center and accessible via the Internet. We also discuss a shared cloud because the resources (hardware, storage space, network equipment) are shared between several companies, called Cloud “tenants.” Since the storage spaces are partitioned, the latter obviously do not have access to each other’s data.

The cloud service provider owns the hardware and the storage space it makes available to you. It must ensure its maintenance and guarantee high data accessibility. You, therefore, do not have to invest in hardware resources to increase your storage capacity nor incur costs to keep them up to date. The public cloud also has the advantage of being scalable. You can increase your storage capacity according to your needs without reinvesting in hardware or migrating your data to another device.

The Private Cloud

For the private cloud, the resources are exclusively dedicated to the company. Storage space and cloud infrastructures are not partitioned between several organizations, providing high security. The data can be hosted by a cloud service provider or within its own company. Unlike the public cloud, the hardware part is not provided.

The company is responsible for investing in its own server and providing the storage capacity it will need. The maintenance of services and infrastructure is also the responsibility of the company. The advantage of the private cloud is to facilitate the customization of its cloud environment according to its IT and business needs. It, therefore, offers greater flexibility and control for the company.

The Hybrid Cloud

The hybrid cloud is an infrastructure that combines the public cloud and the private cloud. You thus benefit from the advantages of these two formats. According to the study published by Nutanix (2018), 91% of IT managers consider the hybrid cloud the ideal model for a company. Its significant advantage, and not the least: is its great flexibility.

With a hybrid cloud, you get the elasticity your business needs to deal with shifts in demand. More concretely, if your storage needs exceed the resources available on the private cloud, you can use those of your public cloud. It is not obliged to invest in additional equipment to benefit from a larger storage space temporarily. Your company can thus maintain its private infrastructure to host its sensitive data, and you avoid unnecessary expenses.