Shifting away from on-premises IT and data storage, cloud computing gives one access to computing resources like services, data, applications, and development tools on a remote data center that is managed by a cloud services provider.
While on-premises facilities are still of use to many, the benefits of cloud computing include lower IT costs, scalability, and agility. Due to the features and benefits of cloud computing, several businesses are making the transformation from on-premises services with the help of IT managed services experts.
When doing so, they will come across four types of cloud computing. They each have different uses, pros, and cons.
As the name implies, public cloud is easily accessible by the public and the infrastructure is located on the premises of the company offering cloud solution services. The company will rent space on their cloud to various clients, who will be charged based on the services they require.
In this type of cloud computing, the service provider owns and manages the data centres, hardware and infrastructure. Public cloud is based on multi-tenant architecture and the clients will not be required to carry out any maintenance, IT management or security processes.
Public cloud is preferred by many businesses due to scalability as they can pay for additional services they require without having to invest in the infrastructure and technology. In terms of cost, public cloud can save a business both time and money, which is another advantage of this type of cloud computing. So is reliability.
The cons of cloud computing include a lack of control in terms of privacy and security as well as a lack of flexibility. There may also be shortcomings in terms of protocol for data management and a business may not be able to use public cloud for sensitive apps.
The second type of cloud computing is private cloud, where the cloud infrastructure is dedicated to a single client. Like public cloud, private cloud can be hosted on the service provider’s infrastructure and rented to the client or it can be hosted on-premises.
The features of private cloud include single-client architecture and high reliability and security. These are among the key advantages of this type of cloud computing. Businesses may also opt for private cloud because of scalability, self-service, agility, and efficiency.
With private cloud, the client can tailor the servers to suit their requirements and preferences.
However, private cloud is also expensive, both in terms of the initial investment and maintenance and expansions. Besides cost, maintenance can also be time-consuming and require additional resources.
A combination of the above types of cloud computing, hybrid cloud allows clients to choose between public and private cloud environments depending on their requirements and both systems are hosted on one flexible infrastructure.
Hybrid cloud is partially shared and dedicated and ensures an easy transition. High scalability and elasticity are two of the key benefits of a hybrid cloud and an IT service management company would recommend it to businesses with highly changing workloads, big data processing needs, or those that need a broad mix of IT services.
The cons of this type of cloud computing are that a hybrid cloud requires a high level of compatibility and network connectivity. Performance issues may also surface with large volumes of data.
The fourth type of cloud computing to consider is community cloud. This is where clouds are shared by multiple organisations. Community cloud is described as a large-scale private cloud that caters to the shared requirements of a community.
A community cloud can be managed and operated either by organizations or a cloud solutions provider. This type of cloud computing is ideal for organizations carrying out joint projects, as the central infrastructure can be used to build, manage and execute projects together.
Community cloud has multi-tenant architecture with collective control and maintenance. The cost is shared, making it a cost-effective option. Security, flexibility and scalability are other advantages of community cloud.
The disadvantage of the community cloud is that it is only suitable when the organizations have shared goals. A conflict of interest or lack of trust are barriers to community cloud infrastructure.
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