Pros & Cons of Public, Private & Hybrid Cloud

Featured article by Andre Smith, Internet Marketing and E-Commerce specialist

Cloud hosting is an ideal web hosting solution for any business or entity on the World Wide Web. Whether they are small sized enterprises, Government agencies or big corporates, cloud is a very scalable, flexible, secure and cost-efficient hosting solution for storing sensitive data and information. Cloud computing technologies are here to stay, and most companies are coming to terms with it.

As per the latest prediction of International Data Corporation (IDC) “total spending on IT infrastructure products (server, enterprise storage, and Ethernet switches) for deployment in cloud environments will increase by 18.2% in 2017 to reach $44.2 billion”. A further breakdown of this total amount, summarized as under gives an incredible insight into the incorporation of cloud infrastructure by businesses in the coming months-

– Of the total expenditure, 61.2% is expected to be on public cloud datacenters
– Off-premises private cloud spending is estimated to be up to 14.6%
– Spending for on-premises private cloud deployment is predicted to be around 16.6%

The report also predicts that in comparison, the spending on traditional IT infrastructure or non-cloud setups will decline by 3.3 % in 2017. These trends or analysis turn a new leaf in our discussion about cloud hosting solutions. For example, which is the best cloud hosting platform? Or, how should companies determine which platform is most suitable for them? However, before we take this discussion further, it’s important to understand the fundamental difference between the various cloud hosting types.

Cloud hosting is a very broad terminology and is divided under the following sub-heads-

Public Cloud – Public Cloud is perhaps the most popular cloud hosting type that thousands of businesses across the world rely on. The computing infrastructure of public cloud is a distributed one and is shared by multiple entities over the internet. The infrastructure of public cloud is managed by a service provider who is responsible for maintaining and upgrading it.

Private Cloud – The infrastructure and computing resources of private cloud is dedicated to one organization. A private cloud can be on-premises or externally hostedand is one of the most secure cloud hosting solutions out there.

Hybrid Cloud –Hybrid Cloud is a scenario wherein companies distribute data on both public and private cloud. While sensitive data is stored on a private cloud, less critical information makes way to the public cloud infrastructure.

The pros & cons of each of these platforms entirely depend upon the nature of data a company is dealing with, as well as the size of the corporation. If an agency or business handles sensitive data or classified information, Private or Hybrid cloud platform is the recommended choice. On the other hand, several small and medium sized enterprises go with public cloud because it is cost-effective and offers the much-needed flexibility that modern businesses need today.

Companies looking to deploy cloud infrastructure to their business can make a comparison between the 3 platforms on the following metrics –

So, which is the best cloud hosting solution for modern day businesses?

Going forwards, cloud hosting is expected to take over traditional web hosting solutions. Hybrid cloud hosting in particular is suggested to be the future of cloud hosting technology, since it brings to the table the best of both worlds (Private & Public Cloud). Having stated that, every business is different and their needs vary. Companies need to analyze each platform by comparing requisites like budget, criticality of the information, resource disposal, etc. before reaching a decision.

Andre Smith is an Internet, Marketing and E-Commerce specialist with several years of experience in the industry. He has watched as the world of online business has grown and adapted to new technologies, and he has made it his mission to help keep businesses informed and up to date.