Analysis of Various Types of Cloud Computing

Introduction

Cloud computing enables companies to create and connect to large pools of organizational databases, thus enabling flexible and convenient access to the organization’s informational resources. This is especially suitable for today’s internationalized business models. The bottom line is thus that all companies today are somehow looking into cloud computing as a sustainable option for their applications, data and file storing needs.

Types of Cloud Computing

There are four types of cloud computing that these companies can choose from, including public, private, hybrid and community cloud. Each of these types of cloud computing has its unique set of characteristics that determine whether they are relevant depending on the needs of the company in question. This means that before choosing a type of cloud computing the company needs to evaluate their needs and decide on what to expect from the cloud computing.

Public Clouds

The public clouds have a rather low level of security and available variances because the cloud here is operated by one service provider who offers access to the cloud through the internet. The public cloud is however convenient in cases where there are a lot of users which would imply a serious standard workload. Also, the public cloud is very cheap seeing as he cost is spread out across all the users. Google for example is able to provide cloud computing services at almost no cost at all. If your company needs an incremental capacity, has a huge workload for applications and is not keen on high levels of security then the public cloud will serve you well.

Private Clouds

The private clouds are on the other hand dedicated or created and operated specifically for a given organization. They could be hosted and managed internally within the organization or externally through a third party depending on the needs of the organization in question. The On Premise Private cloud is where the cloud is hosted within the organization and their IT department takes responsibility for all the incurred costs and required activities of running an maintaining the cloud. The externally hosted private cloud on the other hand implies outsourcing the cloud computing service to a third party without having to share the infrastructure with another organization. Either way, the company here is reassured of security and privacy and this type of cloud computing would work best for an organization that values the privacy and security of their databases. It is however rather expensive. Such organizations can meet the cost by also providing cloud computing services to other organizations at a fee.

Community Clouds

This involves a private cloud that is shared by a number of organizations and either managed by all these organizations or by a third party. Ordinarily, these organizations must have a shared set of cloud computing requirements in order for customized cloud characteristics to work effectively for all of them. This kind of cloud computing is best for large organizations that have numerous independent departments, like governments and international organizations like the UN.

Hybrid Clouds

A hybrid cloud incorporates all the above mentioned cloud computing types in one bundle to provide the convenience of reaping the advantages of each type of cloud computing. In this kind of cloud, you use two or more clouds, spreading out your cloud computing needs against the numerous types for more effective services. You can also host other organizations given the vast opportunities that are created especially when you merge a public and a private cloud to create a private cloud that has been augmented with the unlimited resources of a public cloud. The challenge is that you will need both on premise infrastructure and off site server based infrastructure. Hybrids are thus expensive to set up but cheap to manage as you can offer cloud computing services to many other organizations at a fee.

Conclusion

Companies have to pick out a cloud computing type based on their needs and expectations with respect to cloud computing. At this point, all companies have to be considering the concept of cloud computing seeing as it is not only convenient but also highly economical in terms of enabling them to work seamlessly across the globe. Whether you settle for a public, private, community or hybrid server, cloud computing is the way to go in business but it will only work if it is relevant to your organizational needs.