Today everyone is moving towards cloud, which is considered to be the most technological advancement with higher computational power. The way the cloud has been clubbed with Artificial Intelligence(AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) a lot has changed the way a user can access, store and retrieve the data. It also eliminates the need and cost of expensive hardware and storage devices.
This article will let you know about all the types of Cloud along with their benefits for your business and applications. Cloud computing is usually defined based on the cloud location, or on the service that the cloud is offering. There are primarily three types of cloud- Public Cloud, Private Cloud, and Hybrid Cloud. Also based on the service that cloud is offering they are classified as Iaas ( Infrastructure-as-a-service), PaaS( Platform-as-a-service), SaaS (Software-as-a-service) or Storage, Database, Testing-as-a-service and many more. Let us learn about them in detail now!
- Public Cloud:
Public Cloud is the open cloud where everyone on the server shares server space. It is the most widely used and common form of the cloud; It can be accessed through a web hosting service provider or a cloud hosting provider. The hardware, software and the server management is handled by the service provider while retaining the root access to the cloud. The public cloud is mostly accessible by the web browsers. Examples of public cloud are Infrastructure-as-a-Service environments like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Platform-as-a-Service environments like AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Software-as-a-Service like Microsoft Office 365.
Benefits of Public Cloud:
- Public clouds are relatively cheaper than all other cloud services.
- Cloud Management and Operation is not a hassle for the users as the service provider manages and takes control of the cloud.
- Public clouds are reliable and easy to scale once you have exhausted your resources.
2. Private Cloud:
Private cloud is only meant to be for a single user/organization/company. Here the cloud act as a dedicated and can be located physically at your Datacenter or a third-party datacenter. The resources can only be used by your website/application that is deployed in the cloud, i.e., there is no sharing of resources. The Private cloud can only be accessed by a company’s network or the network that has been authorized by you. Example: Private cloud used by the SMBs, various financial and government department.
Benefits of Private Cloud:
- The security of Private Cloud cannot be compromised as it has limited and restricted access to the server.
- Private Cloud can be customized and configured as per your need and can be scaled or downgraded as per the requirements in the future.
3. Hybrid Cloud:
Hybrid Cloud is the combination of both public and private cloud. Hybrid Cloud contains the best of both the Private and Public Cloud. With the help of Private Cloud, you have the flexibility of shifting to a partial cloud base while retaining some application on-site. Hybrid Cloud is an excellent move for the SMBs and the startups who are ready to explore the power of Cloud. The hybrid cloud offers the power to the organization that can easily migrate their data and applications, as well as, share application amongst each other.
Benefits of Hybrid Cloud:
- Flexibility to use: Hybrid Cloud allows the users to transfer the resources from private to public cloud. You can also scale the additional resources with ease for building on-demand infrastructure.
- Secure: Hybrid Cloud provides end-to-end security for data stored. Hybrid Cloud is perfect to analyze the data and manage the workload of the environment to fulfill the rising business demands.
- Cost effective: Hybrid is highly cost-effective because of the ability to arrange and scale up the data and application as and when needed. You need to pay as you go for the resources.
The decision of choosing among public, private or a hybrid cloud depends on the business model and the hardware and software capabilities of your application or business. If you have sufficient infrastructure in maintaining an on-premise, then you can opt for the private cloud or a hybrid cloud. Also, if you wish to move your business entirely to a cloud and do not want to manage the infrastructure, then the Public cloud is your choice.
