Learn Private Cloud vs Public Cloud

Written by Millgate 31/03/2023

What is Private and Public cloud?

Cloud computing has become a staple for many organisations, with its obvious benefits like easy scalability and subscription models that make it simple to execute for a company. But there is still confusion about what is best for a business, private vs public cloud infrastructure.

Nothing in the IT industry is one-size-fits-all. 200ZB of data will be stored in the cloud by 2025, but every business has different needs, and therefore it’s important to understand what each infrastructure can offer and what is best for your organisation.

A private cloud gives an organisation exclusive use of the cloud and is dedicated to just your business. They’re often used by businesses that have high customisation and security needs. A private cloud can give you highly customised services, specifically for your business, and since it’s restricted to your organisation, your users benefit from higher performance. Public cloud is delivered through a subscription-based model. The software is owned, run, and maintained by the cloud provider. You share this cloud space with other users.

Here are some questions you should ask, before you choose your cloud infrastructure:

• Range of services

If given a choice between a flight ticket, and a ticket with an entire itinerary for your holiday, you would choose the itinerary, since it reduces the stress of having to plan everything when you should be relaxing. A range of services at your fingertips helps reduce additional external payments that usually go unseen when budgeting. You should choose a cloud infrastructure that caters to your range of services.

• Manageability

A private cloud allows you to manage your cloud, while a public cloud is managed by a third party. The question you should ask within the organisation is: would you like to take control and manage your own infrastructure? Or would you like to delegate this to the cloud provider, taking the weight off your organisation?

• Performance

When sharing the cloud with multiple organisations, the performance of a public cloud may be slower than that of a private cloud, which is an exclusively reserved space in the cloud for your business only.

• Payment model

The public cloud follows a subscription-based payment model, so you know your payments are going out to the provider regularly. A private cloud setup for your organisation may bring up high upfront costs for the organisation before it goes back to a lower operating expense.

• Compliance

Data security is a crucial part of your business. It helps improve your reputation with your clients, and the strict compliance that most companies need, to be able to conduct business. Private and public clouds give you different levels of security and therefore support different kinds of tender and compliance needs.

• Migration

Not happy with your current infrastructure, but locked in with the provider for a long time due to the payment model, or due to an inflexible framework? It’s always good to read the fine print and to understand how easy or difficult it can be to move to a new infrastructure if you’re not happy with the current model.

Asking these various questions within the organisation when deciding on infrastructure can help reduce the stress of choosing and make the decision easy for you. It ensures that you get what you pay for, and that your services are tailored to you and your business requirements.

With over 26 years of experience, Millgate understands every business has its own need. Our in-house experts can help identify your needs and provide you with excellent advice, support, and products to help you get what you need. Click here to contact the team today.