Defining Public versus Private Clouds
Posted by Max Coburn on June 16, 2010
Cloud computing continues to be a topic of interest and confusion. Forrester Analyst James Staten recently wrote an entire blog post titled “Could cloud computing get any more confusing?” where he addresses some of the points of confusion and offers his thoughts on what components make true cloud computing.
My colleagues and I have also done several presentations and blogs on cloud platforms and trying to provide simple definitions and overviews of what the cloud is and why you should care. At the end of the day, the cloud is a consumption model for technology that brings economic, technical and business benefits, but you still need to first determine what challenge you are trying to solve or business process you are trying to improve, and then determine whether cloud is the right approach for you.
If you do decide to utilize a cloud-based platform or solution, you have choices between managing it yourself or outsourcing. And there are different types of clouds, namely: Private, Public and Hybrid. In a nutshell, here’s a quick definition of each of these:
- Private Cloud: Internet-based shared computing resources for a single company, controlled by that organization. This is a closed private community with access by invitation only.
- Public Cloud: Internet-based shared computing resources for a diverse community, both internal and external, managed by a third party typically based on standards and SLAs. Access tends to be open or loosely controlled.
- Hybrid Cloud: This is a public cloud environment that enables private “instances or communities” within the broader public environment, where you can have more tightly controlled access and policies.
A basic analogy is the Private cloud is like the Intranet and the Public cloud is like the Internet. Both are Web based environments, but you have more control over one versus the other.
Personally, I think over time these boundaries will blur, and we will manage cloud solutions based on common governance, security and business rules, regardless of where it sits or who owns it. And there will be cloud service brokers who mediate and manage between the different clouds. We are a ways from this vision.
In my upcoming blogs, I will dig deeper into these different types of clouds and give examples of each and when you might use them.
Tags: Cloud Computing, Cloud Integration Platform, Cloud Security, Integration Platform
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