Cloud computing involves four main types: public clouds, private clouds, multi-clouds, and hybrid clouds. Selecting the perfect type of cloud computing is critical, given that each kind solves unique problems. Understanding the different types of cloud computing is essential for making an informed decision for your business.
Public Clouds
As the name suggests, this type involves cloud environments that are public, i.e., not owned by an end user. Examples of popular cloud computing providers that fall under this category include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Alibaba, and Google Cloud. Public clouds have notable benefits, including low cost, low maintenance, and unlimited scalability. However, you must take specific steps to properly roll out Azure and any of the other platforms you might choose to go with.
Private Clouds
Unlike public clouds, private clouds serve one end user or group. They also run behind that group’s firewall, guaranteeing unmatched security. Most organizations run on private clouds, which they rent through vendor-owned data center locations. They offer better security and cloud infrastructure, but they’re also more costly. Like public clouds, private ones can have dedicated clouds within them for different departments within the organization.
Hybrid Clouds
This type of cloud computing resembles one IT environment with many environments connected via networking (LANs, WANs, VPNs, or APIs). Hybrid clouds are complicated, with different requirements. You can make them up of mostly public clouds, private clouds, or an even combination of both.
Typical IT systems characterized by apps in separate but connected groups are great examples of hybrid clouds. However, there’s a need to manage hybrid clouds collectively via a single environment.
Multi-Clouds
These are the most different types of cloud computing you can utilize. Multi-clouds are composed of several cloud services from various vendors. They can be private or public. What’s more, hybrid clouds qualify as multi-clouds. However, multi-clouds aren’t necessarily hybrid unless they involve many interconnected clouds with some level of orchestration or integration.
Multi-clouds can be deliberate. In such cases, their functions can range from controlling sensitive data to offering redundant storage space to boosting emergency data recovery. You can also create multi-clouds accidentally due to shadow IT. Regardless of how you make them, they’re common types of cloud computing in many organizations because they expand environments and boost security and performance.
