The cloud is an innovation which is changing the way organizations handle the storage of their data and application management; yet, some businesses can’t tell the difference between public, private, or hybrid clouds.
NDYNAMICS will attempt to explain cloud computing to you in a way which is simple and easy to follow, including the key benefits and disadvantages offered by particular types of cloud-based computing.
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the cloud, according to Steven Vaughaun-Nichols of CSC, is that cloud computing is “a bunch of servers.” The clouds themselves aren’t virtual servers, in-and-of themselves. These clouds consist of data stored on virtual machines within secure data centers. He emphasizes that clouds deliver a “user-controlled utility.” Therefore, these cloud solutions are designed to provide users with a certain service that’s treated like any other utility. He cites Appcore, which defines cloud orchestration as “the combination of tools, processes, and architecture that enable virtualized resources to be delivered as a service.”
Just like those fluffy formations in the sky, clouds take on many different forms, depending on what kind of hosting your business prefers.
- Public clouds: When a business takes advantage of a public cloud, they’re using services provided over a publicly-accessible network, usually by an external third-party vendor. Public clouds are particularly useful for start-ups or smaller business ventures, as they are often affordable and readily accessible. This also means that the responsibility of a self-hosted cloud isn’t placed on your business’s shoulders; however, there’s a notable lack of security and control provided by the public cloud.
- Private clouds: In direct contrast to the public cloud, the private cloud is generally hosted in-house on a private network. This allows for greater data security through the use of security-augmenting devices and applications.
- Hybrid clouds: A hybrid cloud solution is like the middle ground between both public and private clouds. An example of a hybrid cloud is one which allows your business to host confidential corporate data on-premises in a private cloud, while taking advantage of a public cloud for the roll out of mission-critical applications (i.e. software as a service).
Hopefully, we’ve helped clear up any confusion you might have as a business owner. If you haven’t yet considered integrating the cloud into your computing infrastructure, we at NDYNAMICS can be of service. We’ll bring our decades of experience in IT consultation to the table and help you decide which cloud solution is right for your business. Give us a call at 408-927-8700 to learn more.
