Demystifying The Cloud

However effective cloud computing may be, a lot of IT managers are still confused about the many mutations of cloud computing and the different terms used to talk about this technology. Customers are scared to get it wrong. They are not sure which is the best solution for their organisation, if they really need it and most importantly, if they can afford it.

IT managers talk about private/internal, external/public and hybrid clouds – what do each of these mean?

The private cloud

To clarify, a private cloud is built by an organisation for its own internal use, rather than using someone else’s infrastructure. The one thing that makes a private cloud differ from a public cloud is the location of the hardware and the maintenance thereof. A private cloud resides on the company’s own servers, within their own private infrastructure.

Some advantages of a private cloud include: direct control over every aspect of the cloud’s implementation; it can be built from reasonably current commodity hardware; better security, meaning that if you are hosting your cloud infrastructure on a private LAN, it is easier to secure.

The public cloud

Public cloud is the offering where our partner’s sell packaged services to their customers. These are services that are in the public domain, a provider makes them available to customers over the Internet. The main benefits of using a public cloud service are: it is easy and inexpensive to set-up; it is scalable; and there are no wasted resources as you only pay for what you use.

Proponents of public cloud computing sometimes advise not owning any software or hardware or employing any IT administrators and instead relying on professional providers of IT applications, platforms, infrastructure and services.

The hybrid cloud

We recommend a combination of these services. A third model, the hybrid cloud is maintained by both internal and external providers. Ideally, the hybrid approach allows a business to take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness that a public cloud computing environment offers without exposing mission-critical applications and data to third-party vulnerabilities. The trend is to centralise and consolidate infrastructure environments utilising universal shared platforms across the organisation in order to reduce costs.

In conclusion, it is essential for customers to understand and consider the benefits of cloud computing and the overall advantages it will bring to their businesses in terms of increased efficiency, profitability and reliability.