It’s a fact that different workloads need different IT environments. While the public cloud is a good option for many applications and use cases, it’s not ideal for all workloads. Many businesses have adopted private clouds to address these specific business-critical workloads. In this post, we discuss the benefits of the private cloud and how to take cloud computing management to the next level.
How Private Cloud Benefits Outweigh Other Options
Public clouds have gained widespread popularity because they offer cost savings via shared IT resources and expenses among multiple customers. Public cloud provides access to a myriad of services, like data warehousing, database services, containers, and more – in addition to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Additionally, public cloud services can be scaled on demand, providing flexibility as an organization’s needs change.
5 Benefits of Private Cloud
A private cloud infrastructure is meant for a single organization (also known as a “single-tenant” architecture). The customer owns the hardware and can provision virtual environments to others within their organization. By design, the users have more control over their data and overall infrastructure. One benefit of the private cloud is the flexibility to customize the hardware components, which gives them the ability to handle large workloads. However, there are many benefits of private cloud, below are the top 5 reasons why an organization might opt for a private cloud over other options.
1. Private Cloud Offers More Security and Control
Due to the nature of the private cloud (you own the hardware and configuration), you’ll have full control over your infrastructure, data, and applications. Unlike other cloud platforms, you do not share resources and can maintain strict security controls to prevent unauthorized users. Since the private cloud is a single client, you can also partition that cloud for multiple departments within your organization.
While security in the public cloud has greatly improved over the past few years, organizations that must meet a high level of security and compliance — such as in finance or healthcare — may still be particular about the type of cloud used for data protection. Your IT department retains full control over hardware configuration, security services, remote access privileges, storage, and everything else.
2. Private Cloud is a Good Disaster Recovery Option
The security and control that comes with a private cloud, make this a popular option for disaster recovery. Many organizations utilize this dedicated cloud environment for replication and failover. This means that a private cloud architecture is ideal for applications and workloads that require continuous availability and no downtime.
Some organizations gain even more benefits when they partner with a data center provider to host their private cloud. With a third-party data center provider for private cloud, you get:
- Guaranteed uptime
- Physical security and access to cybersecurity expertise
- Always-on power with redundancies
- Always-on connectivity
- Geographic diversity options
- The ability to scale and take advantage of additional services
3. Private Cloud Supports Legacy Applications
Not all legacy applications can be easily migrated to a public cloud. A private cloud can be custom configured to meet the needs of an individual application, providing a possible alternative to replacing it with a new cloud application. Many private cloud options are VMware-based, so it results in an easier transition for some of those legacy workloads.
Those legacy workloads might require major rework to operate in the public cloud. Depending on the number or complexity of legacy applications, an IT department might choose to first create an interface between the legacy system and the enterprise applications in the cloud and, over time, migrate portions of the legacy application to the private cloud.
4. Hosted Private Cloud
While a private cloud can be located on-site or at a colocation facility, another option is to use a hosted private cloud (HPC). Forrester has described HPC as “combining the expertise of a cloud service provider with the isolation of a private cloud that ultimately results in comfort, savings, and a controlled pace of change.”
With a hosted private cloud services, the customer pays to lease the server and other hardware from a provider, such as TierPoint. A virtual private network (VPN) connects the customer with the HPC to ensure superior security and performance. The HPC provider also handles operational tasks including hardware maintenance, software updates, security services, and performance monitoring. It’s an approach that promises to provide the benefits of both public and private clouds in one service.
5. Hyperconvergence
Another approach to minimizing the cost and complexity of private cloud is “hyperconvergence.” A hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) uses software to merge the traditional stack — computing resources, storage, and network — into one hyperconverged unit.
Scaling up a private cloud is as easy as adding more HCI nodes to your in-house or colocated HPC rack. Data center services providers are using hyperconvergence in their hosted private cloud infrastructure. Watch this video to learn more about how it works:
Also read: Q&A: How Hyperconverged Infrastructure Works with Private Cloud
Is Private Cloud Right For Your Business?
A private cloud is, for many organizations, an integral part of their hybrid or multicloud environment. These hybrid environments may include on-premises or colocated legacy systems, public cloud, and private clouds. The hybrid strategy enables IT departments to provide an optimal computing environment for different applications and workloads.
Most IT departments lack the experience to effectively develop and support all the different cloud and on-premises environments. Managed services and cloud providers offer a range of expertise and services, from planning and migration services to performance monitoring and management. With the right support services and consulting expertise, any organization can implement a cost-effective and high-performance hybrid cloud strategy.
Learn more about the value of Hosted Private Cloud and how TierPoint can help you to build one.
Originally published in January 2020, this post was updated on June 17, 2021, to reflect changes in stats and to add more context around private cloud benefits.