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PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE CLOUD: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Technology decisions for your business are often made based on immediate needs and financial considerations, but other factors are just as important. Choosing a cloud-based infrastructure offers flexibility and elasticity for your organization that a unit-by-unit approach can't provide. The challenge, then, becomes determining whether your business requires a private or public cloud.

Both public and private cloud computing enable organizations to pool resources, albeit at different scales, and leverage price control through pay-per-use services. Understanding the differences between public vs private cloud and the potential for hybrid frameworks is paramount before starting the process in either direction.

 

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What is Public Cloud?

Businesses seeking technology solutions managed efficiently by professionals should investigate public cloud options. With careful workload analysis and management, a public cloud can save your organization money and increase workforce flexibility.

Definition of Public Cloud

Put simply, public cloud services are an extensive network of software, hardware or servers shared across multiple organizations. The data for each organization is firewalled against all other users, but the resources are pooled so that no one business bears the cost of upgrades or maintenance.

Public cloud access may include email and communication services, file storage, apps, OS platforms and DevOps environments. In practice, public cloud computing can take several forms. For example:

  • SaaS: Software as a service
  • Paas: Platform as a service
  • IaaS: Infrastructure as a service
  • DaaS: Desktop as a service
  • ITaaS: IT as a service
  • AIaaS: AI as a service

Because users access the public cloud tools over the internet, they share those resources among several organizations. Thus, services are pay-per-use and offer on-demand software, hardware and server access. Public cloud providers are owned by third-party service providers; they use professional run, large-scale, professional data centers that provide features and benefits outside of a normal company's operating budget. Data centers provide firewall protection, and the means to  protect organizational data stored on servers with dedicated personnel to manage the physical aspects of the data center.

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Benefits of Public Cloud

  • Public cloud users only pay for what they use through access metering and analysis. Individual companies can spend less on in-house equipment and IT personnel, saving them a considerable amount of money. Since public cloud providers maintain redundant facilities, the services offer the potential for good reliability and resiliency in the event of natural disasters or other kinds of failures.
  • As your business needs increase, the pool of resources can stretch and grow to meet your demands. Reduced complexity of technology implementation and servicing means that your IT team and workforce can spend more time handling day-to-day operations.
  • Agile technology approaches: Flexibility and scalability to meet workload demands.
  • Operational prioritizing: Reduced reliance on in-house IT expertise for infrastructure management.
  • Cost control: No CapEx investments for deploying and maintaining technology infrastructure and plan pricing based on SLA offerings.

 

Drawbacks of Public Cloud

The disadvantages of public vs private cloud appear in tandem with their benefits:

  • The pooling of resources in a central location can lead to a sense of decreased security. 
  • Using a public cloud requires different types of expertise from those associated with traditional corporate data centers.  Staff who don’t understand the differences can configure environments that could cause IT costs to INCREASE. 
  • Reduced complexity of technology integration comes with a lack of control over update schedules and resource availability.

 

Examples of Public Cloud

Several familiar names operate public cloud services. These are the organizations with whom you almost certainly interact regularly for work and personal reasons:

  • Communication: Zoom, Twitter, Skype and Facebook
  • Apps for IT and Business: Google Drive, Microsoft 365 and Dropbox; Salesforce and Atlassian
  • Software development and testing: BMC Helix, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform

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What is a Private Cloud?

Private cloud solutions operate from a hosted data center or on a company's intranet. Organizations with data centers can use their existing technology infrastructure for these enterprise or internal cloud operations. The potential for a more agile environment with a private cloud system is a significant draw for growing businesses.

 

Definition of Private Cloud

Private cloud solutions, located on-premises or hosted by a third party, are dedicated to your organization alone. The resources are accessed via secure private networks and are isolated from the public internet.

 

Benefits of Private Cloud

Since your organization has primary control over your setup and processes, a private cloud strategy offers security and flexibility that are highly efficient and reliable. Technology scalability through virtualization and advanced data centers pairs with multiplexed workloads to offer efficient sharing of internal resources. 

Your IT team or third-party host can update software, platforms and security applications immediately; your workplace can implement an agile approach to problem-solving and productivity with:

  • Customized HIPAA, PCI SS and other regulatory compliance
  • Dedicated network environment
  • Infrastructure flexibility and scalability
  • Reduced reliance on resource sharing with other organizations
  • Excellent service level agreement performance

 

Drawbacks of Private Cloud

  • The heightened security and exclusivity of private vs public cloud can interfere with ease of access when employees are not on site. Mobile devices often have little access, and the overall infrastructure can be limited.
  • The costs of procuring and maintaining hardware and software can have significant short and long-term impacts. Server replacement is an inevitable and very costly expense for private cloud users. A larger investment in IT personnel is also needed, especially if the private cloud is maintained on-site.
  • The freedom to customize the system offers flexibility, but that inherent autonomy is tempered by the expenses of adding capabilities or capacities to the systems. Private clouds tend to react slower to sudden surges in demand or corporate growth. Managed cloud services or a virtual private cloud can mitigate the pain of some of these expenses.
  • Maintaining a private datacenter requires making the trade off of purchasing sufficient hardware to meet peak demands or suffering from slowdowns during busy periods.
  • Managing a private cloud requires dedicating resources to activities that are not part of a company’s core competency.

Examples of Private Cloud

Organizations that require exclusive control over IT networks for data privacy or development purposes prefer a private cloud option. Some examples are:

  • Governmental organizations
  • Organizations involved in sensitive information storage or retrieval
  • Industries with extensive regulatory requirements
  • Enterprises that require advanced data center technology
  • Businesses requiring oversight of IT workloads
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How iuvo Technologies' Cloud Integration Services Support Your Business

iuvo Technologies helps your business transition to a multi-cloud solution customized to your industry and business structure. A multi-cloud solution affords you access to multiple private and public clouds for discrete business tasks. The primary benefits of multi-cloud systems include:

  • Potentially reduced costs as cloud services compete with other providers
  • Heightened security and storage options
  • Task-based cloud solutions to ensure efficiency and productivity
  • Increased stability through redundancy
  • Better protection against cyberattacks
  • Improved negotiating position for cloud vendor contract options

With iuvo, you have access to our more than 22 years of experience in the implementation of private and public cloud services for agencies and businesses in the Boston, Cambridge, San Jose and Durham areas.

 

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Why Multi-Cloud Computing Is the Next Step for Your Business

Implementing a cloud-based solution for your business reduces IT complexity and optimizes your DevOps, allowing your business to keep its attention on the work, not the technology. Public and private cloud systems can work in tandem as a multi-cloud system to secure your data and elevate your productivity.

Cloud systems streamline your investments in IT, as they are considered OPex and can work as a write-off rather than a depreciating asset. Join more than 90% of enterprise-level companies using multi-cloud solutions and take your business to a new level of technology integration.

 

 

 
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Why iuvo Technologies?

iuvo Technologies’ understands the unique requirements of drug manufacturers, whether they're pertaining to cloud migration or co-managing IT. It shows in the work we do for clients and the value we add to their businesses. With our expansive knowledge and unique approach to IT, we can help pharmaceutical organizations handle the growing complexity of their cloud environment and broader tech stack.

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