Back in June, TechNavio delved pretty deep into the world of Hybrid Cloud during our coverage of the IEEE International Conference, looking at everything from market growth to how hybrid cloud services will impact providers and IT departments.
On August 27th, TechNavio is publishing a report on the Global Private Cloud Services Market (available right now for a pre-order discount of 20%) which our analysts expect to grow at a whopping CAGR of 22 percent for the 2013-2018 period.
With cloud computing becoming feverishly popular, we wanted to know exactly what the pros and cons were for the three main categories for cloud computing: Public, Private and Hybrid.
Public Cloud
What is Public Cloud?
Public cloud computing is a standardized computing model used by service providers to deliver services such as storage, computing resources, and applications to enterprises and end-users over the internet. Computing resources and applications are centralized in a single location and allocated to end-users based on demand.
Service providers charge end-users on a per-use basis, which is economical for enterprises and end-users. Public clouds are most often preferred by SMEs as they help reduce operational costs and improve business efficiency.
Advantages of Public Cloud
- Reduces costs as there is no need to purchase physical hardware. Servers are virtual and hosted by a third party, which reduces the overall cost.
- A public cloud is simple and efficient.
- As it is offered on a hosted service, it will not incur any maintenance charges as employees do not have to maintain the system.
- Since everything is virtual, it does not take much time to reconfigure the entire system.
- There is no fixed contract in the pay-as-you-go model.
Disadvantages of Public Cloud
- Renting of a public cloud from an external provider is expensive.
- Third-party providers are in charge of data systems, and, hence, cannot be controlled by organizations.
- Public cloud works on an internet connection, which means that the data transfer rate is limited and is based on the internet service provider.
- End-users do not prefer to use a public cloud when it comes to storing sensitive personal information.
Private Cloud
What is Private Cloud?
A private cloud is a consolidated infrastructure hosted within the firewall of an enterprise. The infrastructure caters only to the requirements of a single enterprise and can be controlled by the enterprise. The infrastructure includes computing hardware, storage, applications, data, and virtualization platforms that are accessed by end-users.
Private cloud infrastructure also enables enterprises to maintain their own security and data safety measures, which are missing when enterprises adopt public cloud infrastructures. Hence, the adoption of the private cloud is expected to increase in the future as most organizations prefer private cloud over public for data security reasons.
Advantages of Private Cloud
- A private cloud offers more control over the data to organizations.
- As a private cloud is dedicated to a single organization, it offers more security for critical information.
- All compliances such as HIP AA and PCI DSS can be delivered with the help of a private cloud.
- A private cloud is deployed in an organization’s intranet, which helps the organization’s business perform better.
- As a private cloud is owned by the company, its hardware, network, and storage performance can be customized and specified.
Disadvantages of Private Cloud
- Private cloud services are more expensive than public as they are made primarily for particular organizations.
- It incurs on-site maintenance costs, which will need to be borne by the company. The cost includes power supply, cooling, and general maintenance of the server.
Hybrid Cloud
What is Hybrid Cloud?
A hybrid cloud is a combination of a private and public cloud model. It has the advantages of both a private and public cloud. A hybrid cloud is a cloud infrastructure that comprises two or more public and private clouds to cater to an organization’s computing needs. This cloud infrastructure keeps some of the server operations on-premises while utilizing the services of a cloud provider for other operations.
Currently, the Global Hybrid Cloud Market is in its growth stage. Organizations currently prefer to use both private and public clouds, which drives the market for hybrid cloud computing; government organizations are most often its end-users.
Advantages of Hybrid Cloud
- A hybrid cloud is always an option for organizations that are making heavy investments in virtualization infrastructure.
- The technology helps companies extend their technological infrastructure, which will reduce their set-up cost for private cloud.
- It requires low initial investment and operating costs. In addition, it includes a pay-for-your-payment feature as part of its public cloud services.
Disadvantages of Hybrid Cloud
- Hybrid cloud deployment depends on the internal IT infrastructure.
- It requires a properly constructed SQL to meet business expectations.
