For an enterprise, choosing the right way to manage big data can be a make or break deal. It’s not just about finding the right storage solution, there’s security, access, analytics and other critical variables to think about. So out of all the cloud storage platforms available, which is best?
Cloud Platforms: What’s the Difference?
If you’re in the unfortunately position of having to choose a cloud storage solution, let me make your life easier and break these options down:
Public Cloud
A public cloud is a standard cloud computing model in which a company relies on a cloud service provider for resources such as applications and storage. The services available are either free or offered on a pay-per-use model.
Private Cloud
A private cloud is also known as an internal cloud or a corporate cloud. It provides hosted services to a single organization with more control and privacy. It has the same features and benefits as public cloud systems, but it helps overcome certain challenges such as control over enterprise and customer data, worries about security, and issues related to regulatory compliance.
Community Cloud
Community clouds are a form of private clouds that are built and operated specially for a targeted and limited number of individuals or organizations. In community clouds, the infrastructure is mutually shared among several organizations that belong to a specific community having common concerns and interests.
Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud is an integrated cloud service model that employs public and private clouds to perform discrete functions within the same organization. The basic focus of a hybrid cloud is to combine services and data from different cloud models to create a unified, automated, and well-managed computing environment.
Community Cloud is Gaining Major Ground
In 2014, the Global Cloud Services Market was dominated by the Public Could segment, followed by the Hybrid Cloud, Private Cloud, and Community Cloud segments.
But we’re in 2015 now, and TechNavio analysts have all but declared it the year of community cloud, predicting that the Community Cloud Market will grow by almost US$3 billion from 2014-2019 at a CAGR of 36.11 percent.
The rapid expansion of businesses and the need for advanced equipment to meet the increased business requirements are increasing the complexity of the network infrastructure. To address the complexity, enterprises are adopting community cloud and private cloud solutions to centralize the storage and allocate computing resources to end-users.
However, a community cloud has limitations in terms of the capacity of computing resources it can allocate to end-users. Nevertheless, because enterprises have the option of the pay-per-use model, it turns out to be economical for them.
Which End-Users are Adopting the Community Cloud Platform?
The community cloud technology is being adopted only by limited organizations, as the platform is still in its infancy stage. The usage of community cloud technology is expected to increase across a number of enterprise verticals during the forecast period, with the Government sector being the major adopter.
The US is the major contributor to the Global Community Cloud Market because the US federal government is the major user of the community cloud technology. Community clouds provide a secure and multitenant environment for government and regulated industries seeking the benefits of a cloud while achieving cost-efficiencies generated by a shared secure infrastructure.
The Healthcare sector is another major end-user segment that is expected to increase its adoption of community clouds. Community clouds can be referred to as a subset of a public cloud that is tailored to specific vertical sectors such as Healthcare and Government. A healthcare community cloud can be customized to provide specific security and regulatory requirements that are compliant with HIPAA, which regulates strict standards for health-related data protection.
In the BFSI sector, data is very critical and need to be protected to maintain privacy. In financial services, a community cloud can be optimized to provide ultra-low latency for stock traders to execute financial transactions. In addition, various vendors offer a range of products that serve the needs of customers.
The opportunities in the Global Community Cloud market are expected to increase with time. Various industries are adopting cloud-based solutions to provide better results in a very short time with low cost. The other major end-users in the market are the Media, Education, Transport and Logistics, Energy, Gaming, and Other Services sectors.
