Private, Public, Community or Hybrid Cloud?

Posted on April 06, 2012

Posted by Gerben Meijer in In the Cloud 0 Comments

What are the business drivers to consider behind your choice in cloud deployment model? This post evaluates private, public, community and hybrid cloud models.

How to Choose the Right Model for Your Organization

Different cloud deployment models offer varying levels of control, scalability, availability, and cost. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines the four primary models in this way:

Private Cloud—Infrastructure is operated solely for an organization.
Public Cloud—Infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group; it is owned by a cloud provider.
Community Cloud—Infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns.
Hybrid Cloud—Infrastructure is a composition of multiple clouds that remain unique entities, but are bound by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability.

So, how do you find the right model, or combination thereof, for your organization? Read on for business considerations, and details on what may make one model the best fit.

Cloud Deployment Considerations

Private Cloud

The onsite private cloud is ideal for organizations that require complete control over technology, data and information. Offsite private clouds offer dynamic scalability of computing resources, with the highest levels of data security and segmentation. Offsite private cloud customers benefit from the cloud provider’s economy of scale with hardware and technology.

The private cloud may be a good fit for your organization if you:

Need to meet strict security or compliance requirements.
Need robust data segmentation capabilities.
Experience fluctuating demand of computing resources, due to seasonality or promotions, for example.

That said, the private cloud is typically the most expensive model to deploy, as it’s operated solely for one organization.

Public Cloud

The public cloud is typically the most affordable option, as it lacks heavy upfront investment, can be deployed quickly and has tremendous economies of scale. However, it also serves the widest selection of clients, opening the door to greater multi-tenancy risks.

In the public cloud, your organization may sacrifice some control over visibility and data security in exchange for better efficiencies. For this reason, it may not best for highly sensitive or regulated information.

Community Cloud

The community cloud works well when several organizations share similar needs or goals—i.e. interests, security demands, compliance requirements, etc.

The community cloud provides the advantages of the private cloud, without its heavy costs. As multiple organizations partner together, economies of scale are achieved. This is similar to the public cloud; however, you have complete control over which companies you share resources with. As an example, think of a university that uses student data for a span of research projects.

In addition to cost savings, the community cloud also presents the opportunity for knowledge share between organizations, as data is all housed in the same area. Be careful when storing private or proprietary data in the community cloud, as others may be able to access it.

Challenges within the community cloud include: allocation of costs and responsibilities, governance and security—multiple users and access points must remain under tight control.

Hybrid Cloud

The hybrid cloud combines several cloud models to create a customized solution based on your business needs. This presents the opportunity, for example, to store sensitive information and mission-critical processes in a private cloud, and non-critical information and processes in the public cloud, or to use different cloud models for backup resources and disaster recovery.

If you need varying levels of security, control and scalability, a hybrid cloud option is worth considering. Ensure that all internal IT resources and multiple cloud provider solutions are engineered with standard operating procedures in mind, to build make a complete, interoperable cloud solution.

Which Model is Right for You?

Based on the above, which cloud deployment model are you leaning toward for your organization? Share your thoughts and experiences below, or contact Cloud Provider for a free one-to-one consultation and assessment if you have more questions.

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