What Are the Different Types of Cloud Computing?
There are several types of cloud computing that you should be familiar with. You can find out more by checking out our guide here.
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Cloud computing adoption is on the rise, with 85% of enterprises now storing sensitive data on the cloud.
A third of all organizations consider cloud investment as a top-three investment priority. By next year, they will allocate 28% of their cloud budgets on services like cloud consulting and adoption.
Yet, many businesses are still unsure of the different types of cloud computing deployment and which they should put in place.
This article helps to explain private cloud vs public cloud and hybrid vs multi-cloud solutions.
Read on to discover the differences between the four main types of cloud computing deployments. Discover which is suitable for your requirements. Then learn who can help you to migrate to the cloud and take advantage of its benefits.
Types of Cloud Computing
Cloud computing combines a global network of data centres to deliver a range of services with pay-as-you-go pricing for companies of all types and sizes.
Cloud service models provide a distinct set of services to fulfill a particular need. These include:
- IaaS - Infrastructure as a Service
- PaaS - Platform as a Service
- SaaS - Software as a Service
Cloud providers like AWS and Azure are fundamentally IaaS providers, offering a toolbox of resources you can use to build just about anything. They also offer PaaS and SaaS solutions designed to fit specific use cases and customer requirements. All are offered at a low cost relative to the cost of private data centres. Pay-as-you-go pricing keeps monthly bills down while uptime is consistently high.
However, sometimes there are considerations like data residency and privacy that impact whether all or only part of a workload can be migrated to the cloud, and time would be well spent considering the most suitable architecture for you.
Cloud Adoption
In simple terms, cloud adoption is the process of moving a workload to the cloud. It includes things like what type of compute environment it is hosted in, how its dependencies are integrated, and how the whole thing is accessed. There are different approaches to adopting the cloud.
There are four recognized types:
But what does each solution offer, and what are the security implications? Which should you choose as the foundation of your cloud computing requirements?
Public Cloud
The public cloud offers computing services via a third-party provider over the public Internet.
Vendors like Amazon Web Services provide their infrastructure through a worldwide network of data centres with a pay-as-you-go pricing structure. Any company can essentially rent a service like S3 for data storage or EC2 for compute cycles. They don't require a leased line or specialized VPN to do so.
Public cloud solutions offer unlimited capacity and scale alongside your business's growth.
DevOps teams can build business applications in shorter timescales through the public cloud. E-commerce and e-business websites can have their entire infrastructure run on a public cloud system.
Private Cloud
Private cloud deployment sees organizations use their own servers and storage volumes within a self-managed data centre environment.
Dedicated servers that are either owned or leased by the company sit behind a firewall. The company is responsible for acquiring IT components, as well as maintaining and securing them.
Organizations with tight regulatory requirements like HIPAA often prefer a private cloud solution.
In a private cloud, the company has complete control over the configuration, and they don't have to turn their data over to a 3rd party for hosting. The co-location option of installing physical hardware into a cloud data center adds an extra level of security.
Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid cloud deployment combines public and private clouds so that they interact together. Data and apps can move between platforms as required.
For example, a public cloud service on AWS can integrate with a database server hosted in a private cloud data centre.
Cloudbursting utilizes a private cloud as the primary source to store data and house proprietary apps securely. If the demand for the service rises, public cloud resources are used to manage the extra traffic.
Hybrid solutions can also outsource non-critical applications to a public provider. This outsourcing keeps the primary data fully secure while offering the option for services like CRM platforms or Microsoft 365 to leverage the flexibility of the public cloud.
Multi-Cloud
Multi-cloud deployment uses two or more services from a range of public cloud providers.
Organizations use multi-cloud environments to distribute computing resources to cope with high demand or leverage different providers' strengths. For instance, Microsoft Azure is understandably strong on the Active Directory front, but AWS has a more diverse range of services. A company might choose to leverage Azure Active Directory to control access to AWS services for their staff.
Multicloud can also be an excellent solution for disaster recovery and overall resilience in that an outage with one public cloud provider won't likely affect the other. As there is no one point of failure, this helps minimize downtime and data loss.
Private Cloud vs Public Cloud
One of the most significant advantages of a public cloud system is its versatility and ability to scale.
Companies can tap into extra resources as they need to. AWS has hundreds of services on offer that have no long-term commitments. IT managers can calculate costs ahead of time, predict monthly expenses with no unforeseen surprises, and scale to meet unexpected spikes in demand.
However, the public cloud has the perception of being 'insecure.'
For instance, hosting data in S3 buckets can be daunting, especially for newcomers to the platform. Misconfiguring access rights can leave data files open to anyone with the correct URL. Security best practices must be employed from the ground up to leverage the public cloud safely. Furthermore, the architecture and its implementation should be executed by experienced technicians.
A private cloud system keeps data safe within the organization's own servers. Still, it's important to remember that security is just as crucial in private cloud environments. The difference is that you must design, purchase or lease, configure, and monitor it all yourself.
Multi-Cloud vs Hybrid Cloud
There are two primary differences between multi-cloud and hybrid cloud deployment:
- Hybrid cloud solutions always include a private cloud and are managed as one entity
- Multi-clouds always involve several public cloud services to perform different functions
Multi-cloud architectures don't need to include a private cloud, but they can also be defined as a hybrid cloud if they do.
Many companies find themselves with a hybrid cloud strategy by default. If one department uses a public cloud resource while the others remain private, they are by definition running on a hybrid cloud.
Which Cloud Computing Types to Adopt
The answer to this question depends entirely on the unique technical and compliance requirements of your workloads.
Most small businesses can use AWS public cloud services for all their computing needs. They can host their data online in a secure way but at a low cost.
Organizations with tighter security requirements may need a private or hybrid cloud.
Secure cloud approaches require specialist configuration and maintenance. And systems should be carefully monitored and regulated on an ongoing basis.
That's why it's essential to have the right cloud architecture strategy in place created by a team of cloud computing experts.
Pilotcore Cloud Computing Options Experts
Organizations can benefit from the different types of cloud computing by accessing resources securely at a low cost.
Planning for cloud adoption and migration plays a vital role in the overall success of your initiative. IT staff with little or no related experience could jeopardize the entire project.
Pilotcore is a registered AWS Partner with decades of combined cloud computing experience.
Our team of experts can provide a secure architectural foundation for your requirements. From consultation to deployment, we can guide you on the correct type of cloud computing to adopt.
Contact our office in Canada today to discover how Pilotcore can help you.
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