What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing has shifted from an emerging technology to a must-have, offering a host of unique benefits designed to keep your business safe, secure and moving forward.

Whether you’re new to cloud computing or evaluating your current strategy, it’s important to understand the differences between private and public cloud when making decisions that will inform your organization’s future

The “cloud” in computer refers to storing and accessing data and programs via the internet, versus having them installed on your machine’s hard drive. A cloud service provider usually operates the servers that store the data and operational programs.

While public clouds have been go-tos for years, more recently many organizations are moving to private clouds that offer added security and flexibility. These third-party-provided computing services are available to anyone who wants to use or purchase them. They may be free or sold on-demand, allowing customers to pay only per usage for the CPU cycles, storage, or bandwidth they consume.

In the case of public clouds, businesses aren’t responsible for managing hosting. Company’s information is stored in the solution provider’s data center—this can reduce lead times and provide other benefits, but is also less secure.

On the flip side, private clouds are anchored by either an internet base or a private internal network—and access is only granted to select users, versus the general public. Unlike the public cloud, private cloud users have complete control over their data and don’t share the serve with any other companies. As a result, companies can manage, scale, customize and deliver a high level of security and privacy via the private cloud.

Private or corporate clouds are highly beneficial for many reasons. Although most companies adopted public cloud models initially, many are now converting to private or hybrid clouds due to security concerns and the desire to have greater control over their data. With private clouds, expect:

• Guaranteed resource availability
• Excellent security
• Regulatory compliance
• Cost-savings
• Increased flexibility

These benefits are usually delivered by virtualization technology that helps companies optimize their server usage and resource allocation. Virtualization also allows for greater flexibility. All of these benefits add up to cost-savings for companies.

Many business owners find that private cloud is less costly than public solutions. An estimated 41% of IT decision-makers don’t understand the full costs associated with public cloud until they’ve made an investment and received a bill.

Businesses should consider their business needs and priorities and determine if they can be met with a private cloud solution. For many businesses, private clouds are the only way they can meet regulatory standards such as HIPAA’s e-PHI.

Companies that have reliable or consistent resource demands are also excellent candidates for a private cloud. A private cloud allows these businesses to maximize their resources, reduce cloud spending and likely won’t use this elasticity, one of the key benefits of the public cloud.

Contact WorldTech Management Solutions to learn more about your private and public cloud computing options. Our expert team will evaluate your company’s security, compliance, flexibility and cost needs and help you make the right choice for your business goals.