Data is undoubtedly among the vital assets of your business, so its security and safety should not be compromised. From your organization’s internal data to the data of your clients, the loss of it might have a significant impact on your organization that might ultimately lead to entire business failure.
When it comes to safekeeping data and preventing data loss, clouds have been gaining popularity over time. Whether it be from human-induced factors such as admin error, hardware failures, cyber-attacks, or unforeseen events such as natural disasters, clouds play a vital role in safekeeping the data.
Well, there’s no doubt that clouds can help you upgrade your data protection game. But, what comes along with the adoption of the cloud for data security and protection is the confusion about which cloud will serve best for your organizational needs. Keeping this in mind, in this blog we’ll be going through it in detail on public vs private vs hybrid cloud so that you select the best one for your organization.
Cloud: A Brief Introduction
Simply understanding the cloud, a cloud is a vast network of remote servers that delivers computing resources, data storage, software, and platforms with the use of the internet. What makes it useful is that you can use the cloud for various services such as computing, data storage, and software needs without building and maintaining an on-site infrastructure.
The other benefit of a cloud is the flexibility it provides. Organization can easily scale their resources in the cloud without worrying about the additional cost involved in infrastructure.
Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Cloud
The cloud needs of organizations might be different depending upon the type of organization. For example, an organization might be looking for overall control over the cloud infrastructure while the other one might be looking for flexible options at affordable prices. This is where the concept of public, private, and hybrid clouds comes into effect.
Let’s find out what the public, private, and hybrid clouds are, how they work, and also their significance.
Public Cloud
The primary goal of the cloud is to offer services such as computing resources, data storage software, and platforms to organizations through the use of the internet where the cloud is based remotely.
So, if the cloud is offered by a third-party service provider over the public internet which is accessible to any organization or individuals interested in using it by paying for the services, it is called a public cloud.
Advantages of Public Cloud:
Cost Effectiveness: One of the primary reasons behind choosing a Public Cloud is its cost-effectiveness. There are no up-front costs associated with public cloud. You have the option to pay for the resources you use in the cloud.
Scalability and Flexibility: As the public cloud is managed and controlled by third-party service providers, you do not need to worry about the scalability and flexibility of the cloud. You can scale your resources according to your organizational needs.
Reliability and Redundancy: Usually the public cloud providers have multiple data centers with redundant infrastructure thus ensuring high availability and reliability of services.
Disadvantages:
Security Concerns: The public cloud is accessible to multiple users over the internet. This poses a risk to security in the public cloud. Organizations must be aware of the security challenges and implement robust measures for data protection.
Control: The control of an organization on a public cloud is limited. The infrastructure and the resources on the public cloud are controlled by the provider. In case your organization has specific requirements in the cloud it might not be available through the public cloud.
Dependency on Service Provider: Using a public cloud results in higher dependency on the service provider. As the cloud service is dependent upon the resources of the provider there might be chances your organization faces disruption while the provider faces downtime or disruptions.
Private Cloud
A private cloud is private to an organization and there exists no share of resources with other organizations. The access and control of the cloud solely rely on the organization. There are two options to access a private cloud, either to create a data center on-premises or to use the service of a third-party vendor.
Advantages of Private Cloud:
Control: One of the primary advantages of using a private cloud for the organization is the control it offers. You can use the cloud as per your organizational needs and as per the resource requirements.
Security: A private cloud is organization-specific, and the control of the cloud also remains with the organization. Unlike the public cloud, there are no shared resources, which means there are fewer security concerns while using a private cloud.
Performance: The resources of a private cloud are solely dedicated to a single organization. This might result in faster access to resources in the cloud which ultimately leads to better performance of applications and services.
Disadvantages of Private Cloud:
Cost: When opting for a private cloud you can either create a data center on-premises or use the resources of a third party vendor. If you opt to choose to create a data center on-premises then it might result in high upfront investment in the resources.
Complexity: Unlike the public cloud where a third-party cloud provider looks after the management of the cloud, a private cloud needs to be managed by the organization itself. Your organization might need to have a separate team to handle the cloud and it might increase the cost as well as complexity.
Scalability: Private clouds can be scaled, however, they might not provide your organization the instant flexibility and scalability like public clouds. The decision to scale involves investment in hardware and infrastructures that can be time-consuming and require additional costs.
Hybrid Cloud
Now when the advantages and features of both public and private clouds come together mitigating their drawbacks, it’s a hybrid cloud. So, hybrid clouds are the ones that have the features of both private and public clouds. For example, your organization can have a higher security level and control of the cloud by choosing a hybrid cloud. A hybrid cloud environment has both public and private clouds in it.
Advantages of Hybrid Cloud:
Cost Effectiveness: Your organization can have cost-benefit by choosing a hybrid cloud. For example, with a hybrid cloud in operation, you can save costs on hardware infrastructures that a public cloud would offer, ensuring the security of your data that a private cloud offers.
Flexibility and Scalability: In case you choose a private cloud then scaling resources would take a lot of investment and time. To avoid this factor if you choose a public cloud then there might be security concerns. But with a hybrid cloud, you can have both at the same time.
Security and control: When your organization uses a hybrid cloud model then there are both private cloud as well as public cloud in the environment. So, for organizational resources that need higher security and control, you can use a private cloud while for others you can use a public cloud. This gives you the option to have both security and control in your cloud.
Disadvantages of Hybrid Cloud:
Despite having features of both public and private clouds, a hybrid cloud might have drawbacks.
Complexity: While it is great to have features of both private and public clouds in a hybrid cloud, managing a hybrid cloud is complex. It requires integrating, maintaining, and managing multiple cloud services along with on-premises data centers.
Cost: Maintaining and managing a hybrid cloud is complex, so this brings up additional costs. While large organizations can find hybrid cloud cost-effective, the management of hybrid cloud by smaller organizations can be a financial burden.
Data Integration and Compatibility: A hybrid cloud environment consists of both public and private clouds. Integrating and maintaining data across private and public clouds can be challenging. This can also affect the performance of the applications.
Which Cloud Is The Best?
Now after going through public vs private vs hybrid cloud, a question that arises is which of the cloud is best for your organization? In reality, the right cloud will depend upon the needs of your organization. As discussed in the earlier section, each cloud has its advantages and disadvantages, so figuring out the right cloud depends upon the specific organization’s needs.
Before directly jumping into deciding which cloud is an ideal choice for your organization, you’ll need to access the requirements of your organization. Here are things you need to consider while choosing the cloud for your organization:
Cloud Security and Compliance Need
The private cloud offers more security in comparison to other types of cloud. If your organization deals with very sensitive and confidential data then the private cloud will serve best, on the other hand, if it’s general data you can rely on a public cloud. If it has both of the data types and they are massive in quantity you can go with a hybrid cloud.
Cost
Determine the cost and budget requirements for your organization. Public cloud is considered to be more cost-efficient in comparison to private and hybrid clouds. Determine the level of security your data requires and consider choosing the cloud according to your organization’s budget.
Flexibility and Scalability
How much flexibility and scalability your organization is looking for in the future? This will also determine the type of cloud you’ll be choosing. If your organization is growing and might need ample resources in the future then choosing a public cloud would be better. If you have sensitive data along with that then a hybrid cloud might be a perfect fit.
Control and Customization
A public cloud is handled by a third-party service provider. So, there are fewer chances of control and customization of the public cloud as per your organizational need. On the other hand, the control of the private cloud lies within your organization. If your organization needs greater control and customization, a private cloud is suitable.
Conclusion
Cloud is a vast network of remote servers that delivers computing resources, data storage, software, and platforms with the use of the internet. Cloud is further divided into three main types public, private, and hybrid based on their features and application.
When it comes to public vs private vs hybrid cloud, all of these clouds have both advantages as well as disadvantages. While the public cloud offers you higher flexibility along with cost-effectiveness, the private cloud offers security and control. On the other hand, hybrid provides both advantages of public and private cloud but can be complex to manage and costly.
Choosing the right cloud highly depends upon an organization’s needs. Cloud security and compliance, cost, flexibility, and scalability along with control and customization are factors you need to consider while choosing the ideal cloud for your organization.
Whether you choose a public cloud or a private cloud, choosing the right cloud provider is of utmost importance. DataHub as a leading cloud service provider offers public, private, and virtual private cloud that can match your organization’s needs.
