Hi Guys! Happy to see you around. Thank you for clicking this read. In this post today, I’ll walk you through Types of Cloud Computing.
Cloud computing is not a new term. Companies have been using this infrastructure for the past two decades. You might be familiar with this term, in case you don’t, cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computing resources over the internet. Simply put, you can process, store and manage a large amount of data using this architecture. The companies offering these services to end-users are called Cloud Service Providers (CSP). And most of these services offer the pay-as-you-go model which means you can ask for only those computing resources required for your business; you don’t pay for the resources you don’t use in the cloud computing model. This liberates you from using on-site data centers for managing data, and you get computing resources online including storage, processing power, and databases.
I suggest you read this post all the way through as I’ll thoroughly cover the Types of Cloud Computing and how they can be used for improving the activities of any business.
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Earlier on-site data centers were a norm for the management of large amounts of data, but cloud computing has gained momentum due to its ability to effectively manage and store the onslaught of data online. Moreover, since these resources are available online, you don’t need hectic IT drills to install, manage, scale or update traditional data centers. These data centers over the cloud are globally managed to give you access from anywhere in the world.
The following are the main types of cloud computing.
1: Public Cloud
2: Private Cloud
3: Hybrid Cloud
4: Community Cloud
No two clouds are the same and picking the cloud type is dependent on the business needs and requirements. Every cloud enables computing power over the network and allows the running of workloads within that system. These cloud models differ in terms of storage capacity, location, and accessibility but they all work on the same principle of virtualization. There is a lot of confusion in each type and I’ll try my best to remove these confusions so you can better understand what each type is all about. We’ll discuss them one by one in the section below.
Public clouds are typically created for businesses but they are not owned by the individual business. Public cloud providers manage and run these clouds and offer services to organizations based on their current needs and requirements. The common public cloud providers include:
This is the most cost-effective option for organizations that don’t have enough capital to invest in the development of IT infrastructure. Public cloud resources are shared by a variety of end-users which means this model is not made for a specific business. Instead, computing resources are shared among businesses of all sizes.
Although this is the preferably best option for businesses to handle a large amount of data, this model doesn’t guarantee the security of sensitive data since this architecture is shared by multiple organizations.
Moreover, this infrastructure offers less customization options and the service providers hold the main authority. A single tweak from the provider’s side can drastically impact your business. For improved security and better control over data, a private cloud is used.
In a private cloud, computing resources are owned by a single organization. This model offers two options: resources can be hosted on-site IT infrastructure or businesses can hire a third party to host their computing resources.
Compared to the public cloud, this model is a bit expensive since it gives you more customization power with improved security. Companies dealing with sensitive data can pick this model since here resources are not shared by a variety of businesses.
Private cloud, if hosted on on-site data centers, gives you the power to fully control the computing resources and make the adjustment based on your internal processes and preferences. Even though this model gives you more control, you require professional IT experts to handle and manage the private cloud on-site. If you don’t want to involve yourself in the nitty-gritty of handling complex IT infrastructure required for private cloud, you can get services from a third party to host and manage your resources on their system. This way you still own the private cloud but you require less technical expertise for handling this model.
Better security is another advantage that comes with a private cloud. Companies require a large amount of data to be handled and stored and in the public cloud that data is vulnerable to cyber-attacks since the computing resources are shared by multiple end-users. To prevent your sensitive data from being compromised or deleted, it is better to keep this type of data within your private security boundary so no one can manipulate your data for their advantage.
Hybrid cloud combines both private cloud and public cloud. You can share data and applications between two clouds using this cloud deployment model. This way workload is not handled by a single cloud architecture, instead, it is shared by two different cloud models.
For instance, organizations need unlimited storage capacity to store a large amount of data, public cloud comes in handy for this purpose for handling non-sensitive data. While, on the other hand, if companies want the processing of sensitive data on the premises of their business, the private cloud is the solution.
Hybrid models are common since they set you free from the long-term investment on a specific cloud model, instead, you can use the combination of both models and ask for required computing resources valuable for your business.
Community cloud is valuable for those sharing common business goals. A variety of businesses use cloud computing models including healthcare, education, manufacturing industries, IT sector, and more. Community cloud is suitable for companies falling under the same business model. For instance, organizations falling under the education sector can pick for community cloud with similar computing resources and storage power. Cost is another factor behind the popularity of this model. The resources cost is split between the organizations picking this cloud model.
If you’re still reading this post, it means you have got a clear idea about the four main types of cloud models. However, there are also less common cloud types used for specific purposes. These types include:
Don’t get confused. This is different from hybrid cloud. In a hybrid infrastructure, companies can get computing resources from both the private and public cloud. While Multicloud is not the combination of different clouds, instead it’s the provision of computing resources from two different cloud service providers. For instance, you can ask for public cloud resources from two different providers to avoid dependency on one single provider.
At its core, a distributed cloud is an architecture that runs from multiple locations but is not owned by a single organization. This model is used to meet the company’s specific performance and compliance needs and it does support edge computing but essentially is managed and controlled by the public cloud provider.
This model is particularly developed to support high-performance computing applications. This model is useful if you want to perform research on a large scale and are looking for a solution for advanced computing problems.
Every business is unique.
It’s your job to carefully monitor the activities of your business and put dedicated thought to pick the particular cloud computing model for your business.
How you want your data to be managed, processed, and stored does matter. If you want to handle a large amount of data, the public cloud is a valuable solution. And if you want the sensitive data to be processed locally, the private cloud is the answer.
And the best part?
You can deploy both private and public cloud models to selectively handle sensitive and non-sensitive data.
And if you don’t want to remain dependent on a single service provider, you can leverage the services of two providers and use them to your advantage.
Make sure you consider the proper security protocols before picking up the right architecture. A single mistake in the initial steps of choosing the cloud model can drastically impact your business in the long run. So be careful.
That’s all for today. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article. Share your experience with cloud computing in the section below. If you’re unsure or have any questions about cloud computing, ask me in the comment section. I’d love to help you the best way I can. Thank you for reading this article.
Hello Folks! Glad to have you on board. Thank you for clicking this read. In this post today I’ll walk you through What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is not a buzzword anymore. Even though most companies are familiar with this term, they don’t know what it does and how it works. If you’re one of them, this read is for you. In simple terms, cloud computing allows you to use computer system resources over the internet. This means you can manage your data remotely over the internet from anywhere in the world. We’ll touch this further in our article.
I suggest you read this post all the way through as I’ll cover what is cloud computing, how does it work, the types of cloud computing, the advantages of cloud computing, and the future of cloud computing.
Let’s get started.
Cloud computing is a way of storing, processing, and managing data over the internet. Simply put, it’s the on-demand availability of IT resources online. These resources include data storage, computing power and databases. This way you don’t need to worry about handling data over the computer’s hard drive or on-site data centers. This liberates you from managing hardware circuits, software patching, and on-site IT drills, giving you online access over data centers through which you can efficiently manage and process your data.
With the onslaught of IT workloads, companies harness the power of cloud computing. It’s not only fast, economical, and secure, it also gives better control over data. No matter your location, as long as you have access to the internet, you can control your information online.
Google Drive and Dropbox are the best examples of cloud computing where you can access and manage your information online. Companies can use it for regular tasks like data processing, data management, software development, data protection, backup and disaster recovery, server virtualization, data analytics, and other real-time applications.
There are three basic parts of cloud computing.
1: Device (like computer, tablets, smartphones) through which you access data
2: Cloud with data centers where data is stored and processed
3: Internet which connects cloud with the device
You might be familiar with the term client-server model. Here user with the device is the client and the cloud with data centers are the servers while the internet connects the users with data centers.
Prior to cloud computing, handling and storing data was challenging. Companies used to install their own data centers that required proper maintenance and regular on-site check-ups to make sure they were running well, which resulted in more oversized bills and more space to accommodate them. It was impractical, expensive, and less efficient.
But cloud computing has dramatically changed this behavior. Now companies don’t need to worry about maintaining, scaling, securing, and managing their IT infrastructure, instead, they can focus on providing a better user experience with quality products. The organizations get these reousrces with pay-as-you-go terms which means the more resources they use the more they pay over time.
Companies that provide cloud computing services often offer monthly subscriptions and give users access to their computing resources. They don’t need to get in the hassle of updating servers, buying software, getting more machines to back up the data, and updating software to avoid potential security threats. The service provider takes care of all of that for them.
Cloud computing is perfect for businesses that have a lot of data to deal with. Cloud computing is mainly divided into three major types.
The public cloud offers compute resources like storage, memory, networking, and CPU. Public cloud vendors host these resources with globally and fully managed data centers. You can pay the vendors and rent these resources to develop your IT infrastructure.
The managed services in the compute resources include security systems and database servers that set you free from the hectic drill of managing and installing the whole solution into your local and on-site data centers.
The common leading providers of cloud computing services include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure. You can hire the compute resources from these vendors as per the needs and complexity of your business operations.
The public cloud is shared by a range of organizations while the private cloud, on the other hand, is specifically developed to meet the business needs of a single organization.
Some businesses don’t feel comfortable working with the public cloud. They want their separate and private cloud on their on-site data centers. Private cloud is perfect and ideally suited for single private organizations.
Two options there: companies can host private cloud or they can involve third-party vendors to host their private cloud on their system. This gives them the ability to immediately get access to the compute power based on their businesses. This setup is best for businesses that are a bit obsessed with the security of their systems.
Hybrid cloud gives you the ability to combine both public and private cloud and use them to your advantage. You can use either of them for a specific purpose. For instance, you may want to get unlimited storage space from the public cloud but you want to process the sensitive data on your private cloud.
This means if you running out of computing resources from the private cloud you can get the services of the public cloud to fulfill your business needs. It gives businesses advanced flexibility to move data across both clouds without a full commitment to the public cloud’s vendor.
And cost management is another blessing that comes with hybrid cloud. If you own a private cloud you need to install data centers on-site which require proper care and a capital expense. But with the public cloud, you only pay for resources without having to worry about the management of data centers.
Now you know what is cloud computing and how does it work. Perfect. There are several advantages of cloud computing. A few of them include:
Cloud computing becomes a necessary part of the business as the requirement to manage and store a large amount of data grows. And this trend will definitely increase as managing data in on-site data centers is not only expensive, it requires a lot of IT drills to properly install and maintain machines handling and storing data.
We can expect the following future trends in cloud computing.
Digital transformation is on the rise. And in this era where technology is changing at an accelerated pace, it’s necessary to come up with advanced solutions to manage, store and process your data.
Cloud computing is now a part and parcel of successful organizations. But still, companies, who have reservations about the security of cloud computing, hesitate to transfer their data to a remote location.
For those hybrid model gives the perfect solution where you can get the advantage of both cloud services. For sensitive data, you can pick the private cloud while for the storage of regular and less sensitive data you can choose the private cloud. This way you can move your data and scale your compute resources as per the complexity of your business.
Not to mention, cloud computing has just started. And as the requirements and demands of businesses go complex, companies need powerful systems that not only store their data but also offer advanced processing capabilities. With new advancements in IoT technology and Artificial Intelligence, more businesses will likely adopt cloud computing for the years to come.
That’s all for today. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article. If you are unsure or have any questions about cloud computing, feel free to ask me in the section below. I’d love to help you the best way I can. Thank you for reading this article.