The debate waging between public and private cloud has remained a major cause of worry for many CIOs and technical heads. While the growing number of public cloud service providers are making the users uneasy about the quality of service offered and data security the cost of setting up a private cloud environment is preventing many from adopting the idea as well. Since you need to take the best decision for your organization we have discussed here the benefits of private cloud computing in your enterprise environment to help you decide better.
Cloud computing has allowed organizations to enjoy scalability and flexibility along with better distribution of workload without really increasing the IT budget manifold. But this has also given rise to issues that companies haven’t experienced before, like sharing data in a virtual set up that can also be accessed by others. Honestly many companies would still feel comfortable in retaining some control over their digital data. Also there is a growing concern over data security and compliance in public cloud environment. Private cloud can be your solution for these problems.
Benefits of setting up private cloud
Extending IT capacity: Private cloud computing allows organizations to extend the capacities of their existing IT infrastructure. If you have already invested heavily on virtualization hardware system then it will let you extent and optimize your infrastructural use.
Better manageability: If you have the right expertise and knowledge in managing cloud based services you can optimize its use easily. You will have better control over its capacity and can eliminate chances of business loss due to outage. You will enjoy the freedom of designing your virtualization environment in a way that will sync seamlessly with your existing applications.
Data security: You can add your own firewall and security layers, which you are likely to miss in public cloud environment, to protect project-sensitive data. A public cloud based service provider may or may not allow you to add your own security layers which will mean that you’ll have to keep faith in the services offered by the provider.
Workload management: You’ll have complete control over your virtualized environment which means better workload management. You can set your cloud capacity depending on user demand. This will also mean greater resources for each user.
Reducing cost: Standardization and automation of virtual set up will help you bring down your infrastructural expenses. Moreover, when you already have gone a length to build a network that will support virtualization why not use it to the optimal level?
While deciding about setting up your very own private cloud you need to keep the following points in mind:
- It is compatible to your business goal: Like any other decision regarding technological modernization you first need to determine the need to shift your business to a virtual environment. The points that may trigger the need are:
1. Your current infrastructure struggles to keep up with your current IT demands
2. There is a sudden growth in number of users
3. Your datacenter can’t keep pace with your growth rate
- You have on-demand delivery of applications: Allowing your users to access applications from a central location can result in huge saving. But for that you need to make sure that you have timely, on-demand application delivery system. This will also help if you are to allow your users to access the applications from anywhere and even on their personal devices (if you are considering implementing BYOD system).
- The cloud capacity is capable of handling organization workload: You need to make sure that your cloud capacity is capable of handling the workload, especially, if your executives are spread across different geographical locations.
Before moving your business to a private virtualized set up make a careful analysis of the service provider’s agreement. Cloud based applications have varied licensing requirements which can further complicate the transition process. You need to make sure that your service provider meets all the above mentioned points regarding business goal, timely delivery and workload management before engaging yourself with them.