Private, Public, Hybrid, or Multi-Cloud: What's the Difference Between Them?

Statista says that enterprises’ total spending on cloud infrastructure services reached $73.7 billion in the last quarter of 2023, noting that this represents 20 percent year-over-year growth. According to the Flexera 2023 State of the Cloud Report, 87 percent of respondents said they employ a multi-cloud strategy. Of those, 72 percent said they use a hybrid cloud approach, 13 percent use multiple public clouds, and 2 percent use multiple private clouds. 

Clearly, the cloud—regardless of the deployment models employed—is a core component of an effective IT strategy. That’s why it’s essential to understand the features, benefits—and drawbacks—of the various cloud computing and networking approaches: private, public, hybrid, and multi-cloud.

Public Clouds: The Entry Point

Public clouds like those offered by cloud service providers (CSPs) like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure are the first places most businesses start their cloud computing journey. Key features of public clouds vs. private clouds and onsite storage include:

Low and sometimes no initial costs as cloud providers offer free tiers and subscription-based models that make it easy to get started with a low upfront investment.

Easy maintenance and upgrades because these are handled by the CSP, relieving internal teams of system maintenance duties.

Flexible scalability that lets you scale resources up or down depending on your requirements.

Advanced security to minimize cloud security concerns by protecting sensitive data.

One downside of public clouds is the shared responsibility model, which places responsibility for data protection, backup, and disaster recovery on your team. Public clouds also might not offer the customization and control you need to meet specific business needs, making them less suitable for specialized IT requirements.

Private Clouds: Dedicated Cloud Environments

Private clouds are set up for a single organization and can be hosted on-premises or by a third-party provider. Key features of private clouds include:

Customization and control capabilities that let you tailor your infrastructure to meet your specific needs, offering a high degree of flexibility.

Dedicated security and compliance resources give you more control over your security posture and ability to meet compliance requirements.

Lower ongoing costs after initial costs for infrastructure investments because you can optimize resources based on your needs.

Private clouds are ideal for organizations where strict regulatory requirements—like financial services companies—require advanced customization and control over their IT environment.

Hybrid Clouds: The Best of Both Worlds

Hybrid clouds combine private and public clouds, enabling data and applications to be shared between them. That lets you keep sensitive data in a private cloud to maximize security while leveraging public clouds' computational capabilities and scalability for less sensitive tasks. Key features of hybrid clouds include:

Maximum flexibility and scalability because you can quickly move workloads between cloud environments based on your needs and costs.

Cost optimization that results from your ability to use public cloud resources to meet fluctuating demands.

Strengthened security for sensitive data kept in a private cloud while taking advantage of the benefits of public clouds.

Multi-Cloud: Flexible Redundancy

Multi-cloud strategies incorporate combinations of private and public clouds, often from different CSPs, for flexibility in meeting operational requirements. Key features of multi-clouds include:

Avoiding vendor lock-in by spreading your risk across multiple providers.

Access specialized services from the vendor or solution that best meets your needs.

Add data resilience and redundancy to strengthen business continuity capabilities by distributing resources across multiple platforms.

Multi-cloud environments are best for organizations that want to optimize their cloud services across varying aspects of their operations, from cost to performance and reliability.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right cloud strategy is crucial because of its impacts across business operations. Understanding the differences between the various cloud environments enables you to customize your cloud strategy to align with your business objectives and budget constraints, and put the proper cloud governance strategies in place to mitigate security concerns. 

For expert help in developing and executing your cloud computing strategy, talk to an Arcserve Technology Partner.