In my last post, I explained Cloud Computing in a simple way. Now that we have the basic understanding of Cloud Computing, the next obvious question is how do you leverage Cloud Computing you’re your organization?
In this post, I will cover the different types of Cloud Computing, their advantages and limitations. We will also briefly talk about the best case scenarios for usage of each type.Cloud Computing types are classified based on location of their deployment, these are,
- Public Cloud
- Private Cloud
- Hybrid Cloud
Public Cloud
As the name suggests ‘Public’, this type of Cloud is available to the general public. It is Cloud Computing in the traditional mainstream sense. All the resources under public cloud are maintained by a service provider and are accessed over the internet by the subscribers.
Advantages
- Virtually unlimited resources – You can instantly provision virtually unlimited amount of resources
- Scalability & Elasticity – You can scale up or down your resources to meet demand peaks and lows, and you pay only for what you use
- Pay as you go – No Capex, you pay a monthly bill
Limitations
- Lack of Perceived Amortization Benefits on Investment – I have come across, large enterprises which shy away from Public Cloud as it is perceived that the amortization benefits on Capital Investments are higher than the Operational Expense benefits incurred on Cloud
- Compliance – Public Cloud providers may not be following all the regulatory compliance required by an organization
If you are a startup or a small enterprise, Public Cloud is the best option to adapt Cloud Computing. You get access to the best in class resources on a pay as you go basis without any initial investments. Also you save on the amount to be spent on maintenance of the resources.
Private Cloud
A Private Cloud is a type of cloud implemented within the enterprise firewall of an organization and runs on premise of the organization.
Advantages
- Security – There is a sense of security among organizations as the data resides on premise
- Compliance – Enterprises can comply to the compliance standards required for their industries and follow the required corporate governance structure for their organizations
Limitations
- Costs – Organizations need to own the hardware, storage and networking resources upfront and also spend on the maintenance of all the resources
- Complexity – Private Clouds are complex to deploy and maintain because of the complex virtualization of the hardware resources
If you are a large enterprise, it makes sense to capitalize on your existing investments which are already made on hardware infrastructure and have a private cloud deployment on top of it.
Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud is essentially a combination of at least two clouds, where the clouds included are a mixture of public or private. Hybrid Cloud deployments are on the rise in enterprises as it gives the best of both worlds to the enterprises.
Advantages
- Flexibility – Organizations can make use of various Public and Private Clouds to utilize the advantages of both the deployment models.
- Cloud Bursting – You can run an application on private cloud and burst it to public cloud to meet demand peaks
Limitations
- Complexity – To deploy a hybrid model is quite complex because of the varying standards of each provider
Large enterprises are adopting this model and using it in multiple ways like Storage & Archiving, Cloud bursting, development and test on Public Cloud & Production on Private Cloud among others.
