Online clouds come in several different forms. There are public clouds, private clouds and hybrid clouds among some other, much less used types. What is the difference between public, private and a hybrid cloud? Read on to find out!
Public Cloud
A public cloud is basically the internet. In other words, when the services are rendered over a network available for public use, you are using a public cloud. Service providers then use the public cloud to create resources, like apps and storage, available to the general public.Technically, there is no difference between a public cloud and a private cloud, except for security. Examples of public clouds include Sun Cloud and Google AppEngine.
Private Cloud
A private cloud is an infrastructure that services a single company or organization. Private clouds provide much more than public clouds, including flexibility, scalability and customization options. The goal of a private cloud is not sell “as-a-service” offerings to external customers but rather to obtain the benefits of cloud architecture without giving up the control of maintaining your own data center.
Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud is a combination of two or more clouds. Companies often use hybrid clouds in order to maintain control of their internally managed private cloud while still being able to rely on the public cloud as needed. One of the major benefits of a hybrid cloud is the ability to still access your company’s cloud during predicted outages, such as a hurricane warning or blackout. While both clouds remain distinct entities, they are still bound together. Another great benefit of the hybrid cloud is the ability to store personal and sensitive information on their private cloud while still using the public cloud for non-sensitive information.
Depending on the needs of you or your company, you can choose from one of these three main types of cloud computing.