Public Cloud vs Private Cloud
Though there are several differences between public and private clouds, the main focus is usually on performance, scalability and cost-effectiveness vs security and resource availability.
The public cloud is incredibly cheap compared to the overhead costs of a private cloud. Moreover, the public cloud allows the companies to add resources, services, and infrastructure for quick scalability.
Large-scale organisations often utilise hybrid or enterprise cloud deployments due to their high efficiency and ability to combine the best of both worlds.
Public and private clouds are often compared on cost efficiency and optimisation of the resources.
This can be a complex question, but when it comes to bang for your buck, the public cloud usually wins out; however, cheap and almost unlimited resources can lead to poorly optimised workflows and cloud sprawl, where uncontrolled use of cloud resources results in overuse and higher overall costs.
Another significant advantage of public cloud services is that they are quick and straightforward to implement, tending not to require long-term leases and legal agreements.
This makes them well suited to smaller, more agile companies who might benefit from the ability to quickly respond to changes.
On the other hand, in a private cloud, the entire system, services, infrastructure, and hardware are developed for a specific client or organisation.
Businesses can work closely with a cloud service provider to create an efficient system within a particular budget.
A private cloud does not necessarily need to be managed by an in-house operations team either, many third parties offer managed private cloud deployments and will take care of everything for you.
Types of Expenses
Public clouds often allow you to hire a resource package from a cloud provider, which can be billed hourly or by the gigabyte.
Private clouds, allow for a wider scope of options such as having an on-site data centre for which you have to pay for expensive hardware, allocate space for a data centre, and hire operations staff to manage it, most of which falls under capital expenses.
Alternatively, this work can be outsourced to a cloud service provider who will manage the hardware for you or rent out dedicated hardware that they manage on-premises or off-site.
In the latter case, the provider will bear the expenses of the infrastructure, installation, and other operating expenses.
Repatriation
At scale the public cloud on-demand pay-per-use model can get quite expensive, there is a growing trend in larger organisations migrating away from this pricing model to the fixed and predictable pricing models of private or virtual private clouds.
Pricing
Most cloud services providers can offer customised solutions to their clients. Most larger providers offer both public and private clouds to cater to all businesses. Public clouds are very cheap compared to private clouds, but they are not always cost-effective in the long run.
The Bottom Line
Private and public cloud solutions have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Generally, it can be said that the private cloud supports more control over pricing and resource availability, and, if configured correctly, benefits in security, and overall efficiency.
However, for some organisations, notably smaller businesses or startups, public clouds can be more cost-effective and flexible.
Ultimately, the best solution highly depends on your organisation’s requirements, but it also doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Leveraging the benefits of both with a hybrid cloud solution is always an option.
For professional practical advice on how you can leverage the benefits of both, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our helpful and friendly cloud specialists who will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.