Different Types of Cloud Computing

If you asked the layman on the street about cloud computing, you would probably get some surprising answers, including some who believe that the computing resources are stored in the clouds in the sky. Clearly, that isn’t the case, but one thing is certain: not all cloud strategies are comprehended by the people that use them. Below is a look at the different types of cloud computing and how they can actually work for business.

The Public Cloud

When you see cloud computing advertisements in magazines or on television, it is likely a public cloud that they are talking about. The public cloud is a cloud platform that utilizes shared virtualized computing resources. Public cloud resources are readily available from Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Dropbox, Adobe, and a variety of other providers. Basically, you share the computing hardware with hundreds of thousands of other users. That’s not to say it’s available to anyone else, as it is protected by a login platform, but overall public cloud resources have the highest risk of being insecure. The price is generally a small, per month, per user fee. For that, you get the storage/applications you need at a price that is advantageous for any business.

The Private Cloud

If a business is trying to take advantage of remote access of data, but requires that data to stay as secure as possible, they will build a private cloud. Basically, a private cloud is hosted on hardware that is dedicated to that lone organization and has a significant amount of security and customizations available to keep the data behind the organization’s firewall, and thus secure. It allows a business to completely control how sensitive data is distributed, and is the most secure cloud platform a business can have. Costs are usually significant as you will need to either buy and maintain the hardware on-premises or purchase dedicated space in an enterprise data center. There are ways to reduce the cost a bit, but ultimately you will be responsible for large capital costs, with smaller operational costs.

The Hybrid Cloud

The hybrid cloud is part-public cloud and part-private cloud. It is also known to be harder to manage as there are considerations about where data is stored and called from. The main draw is that a business can take full advantage of the cost savings that public cloud services offer, while also keeping sensitive information secured on a dedicated private cloud server. The integrations needed to make a hybrid cloud work properly are usually in place, but can also be developed by the business looking to use hybrid cloud architecture. Something called an orchestration layer connects public cloud resources to an organization’s private cloud servers. This offers end users a seamless experience, with no extra work needed to access data from public or private cloud interfaces. 

Which Is Right For Your Business?

The million-dollar question: what works for your business? For the average small business, a private cloud solution makes the most sense because it gives you complete control over your data and applications--and keeps your data and infrastructure onsite--generally thought of as a best practice for smaller businesses. If you want to utilize public cloud resources for your business, to reduce costs, or because your organization's needs don’t call for building a dedicated private cloud, you will want to understand just how your business’ data is stored and accessed, and if you will need more security at the end points. 

There are cloud resources for all types of business processes, so finding one that will work for your business won’t be difficult. They include:

• Accounting
• Operations
• Productivity
  • Project Management
  • Collaboration
• Communications
  • Email
  • Telephone
  • Conferencing
• Document management
• Storage and backup
• Security

...and much more.

If you are trying to determine what kind of cloud computing architecture makes the most sense for your organization, why not consult with the experts at Macro Systems? We can help you with every step of the process, from picking the right provider, to virtualization and migration, and much, much, more. Reach out to us today at 703-359-9211 to get the cloud platform that is right for your business.