Cloud computing continues to rise in popularity — partly out of necessity to meet the needs of a remote workforce, but also due to the vast array of benefits that come with migrating to the cloud, including cost-effectiveness, reliability, and scalability.
The three cloud services are public cloud, private cloud, and Hybrid Cloud. For now, let’s focus on the comparison between public and private cloud.
What is Public Cloud?
With public cloud, computing resources such as servers, databases, and storage are offered to multiple customers by a third-party provider. These resources are accessible to users over the public internet — including the provider, tenets, and customers — and all users are responsible to pay for the public cloud access, as well as share, maintain, and add or remove resources from the cloud.
In short, it is a shared network with scalable demand. Public cloud makes it easy to purchase, store, and effectively deploy projects. Some of the well-known public cloud service providers are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure.
Public cloud benefits
- Cost savings
- Low maintenance responsibility
- High-speed performance
- Scalability with demand
- Non-perimeter security
- Access to the newest technology
What is Private Cloud?
With private cloud, the cloud computing resources are shared over a private network and owned by a single customer or tenant. The hardware and software resources are accessed, manipulated, and maintained by the user at their own data center, and some organizations allow third-party users to host their resources in their private cloud.
Essentially, this is an isolated-access, cloud service option where users are responsible for the servers and storage of computing resources.
Private cloud is always highly recommended for storing confidential files and sensitive data and is suitable for both on-site and off-site premises. The private cloud is always extremely secure and personalized, and some of the well-known private cloud service providers are HP Data Centers, Microsoft, Elastra-private cloud, and Ubuntu.
Private cloud benefits
- Scalability without the need to move data to a public cloud
- Easy to maintain compliance
- Confidential storing of sensitive data
- Extra layer of protection due to private network
- Performance control
- Isolated secured environment
Public Cloud vs. Private Cloud Cost
Due to its customized and dedicated environment for a single tenant, private cloud is more expensive than public cloud. With public cloud, customers face a 20% additional charge for maintenance and isolated cloud access. In short, you pay for what is used and what you need in the public cloud, whereas in the private cloud, you have total control, which is reflected in the cost.
Public cloud is a shared network. As such, it is not as customizable or as innately secure as private cloud. However, it does not require the high capital expense for hosting cloud computing resources, and securing it is entirely doable, if not within your organization, then by partnering with a security provider.
Is Private Cloud More Secure Than Public Cloud?
The modern public cloud offers the opportunity to store resources with secluded user access. When analyzing the features and functions, both private and public clouds are secure. Looking into the test case of security and privacy, private cloud is naturally more secure and offers more privacy due to the isolated network. That is, an organization uses only single-tenant access to store sensitive data and any third-party tenant access can be avoided, which is not conceivable in public cloud. At the same time, public cloud can be equally secure and private, it just takes a few additional steps to get there.
[Related Reading: How Secure is the Cloud?]
Hybrid Cloud
Apart from public and private cloud service providers, hybrid cloud comes into play when running public cloud services on private cloud infrastructure, followed by deploying resources. In general, the public and private cloud provide similar services. Each can get you to your goals, just the path there will be somewhat different.
Factors like cost, accessibility, reliability, and scalability are the important preferences that businesses and organizations often prioritize in selecting a cloud. In recent years, resource deployment on cloud infrastructure has driven users, companies, or organizations to practice both public and private cloud services, aka hybrid cloud, that are fine-tuned for the budget plan and future strategies.
The Best Solution for Cloud Computing
As a cloud-based platform, Fortra’s Alert Logic Managed Detection and Response (MDR) protects your organization pre- and post-breach. It not only secures and protects your organization from threat actors, but in the case of a successful breach, utilizes both superior technology and human expertise to determine the quickest and most effective response to mitigate any potential damage.
Leran more about Alert Logic’s leadership in the cloud and how our MDR solution is equipped to provide the same security outcomes no matter where your systems are hosted — across public, private, or hybrid cloud.
