Cloud computing is a disruptive technology. It can be instantly deployed, scaled, metered and made easily available. According to estimates, by 2018, the global cloud equipment market will reach $79.1 billion. Already a massive market, in 2015 end users spent more than $180 billion on cloud services.
So what exactly is Cloud Computing?
It’s where a third party service provider can deliver your software and hardware requirements through the internet and you in turn then pay for the services depending on usage of the products. Today, a staggering 93% of organisations are running applications on cloud and 82% of them have saved money by moving to the cloud
In using the cloud, organisations can avail of the ‘online service’ or store and also use it to access data. The space where the data and applications are stored is known as ‘Cloud’. Before the availability of cloud, organisations would have owned servers, datacenters and other infrastructure elements required to operate the platform. Now many use the cloud.
There are two distinct types of cloud:
Private Cloud
Private cloud is a cloud which is owned by a specific organisation. The biggest advantage of using a private cloud is data security. According to recent surveys, approximately 66% of organisations are using public clouds.
Some of the security advantages of using private cloud are as follows:
• Data is protected behind firewalls.
• The datacenter can be completely isolated from the rest of the world.
• You can customize the access to data for individual employees.
• You don’t live on whims and fancies of your cloud vendor.
• Employees have physical access to sensitive data.
• Vulnerability to attack is less but not nil. In the case of a security attack, you are all alone to defend yourselves.
• Nature can spoil almost anything without notice.
• There are multiple external factors such as possible power failure, extreme weather conditions etc. that can impact your access to this data
Public Cloud
This is the kind of a service that can be offered to anyone. Google Drive and Amazon Web Services are examples of public cloud that are delivered via the internet. The computing processor and storage offered are owned by service providers or the third party cloud infrastructure providers. According to recent surveys, 88% of organisations use public clouds.
Security advantages of Public Cloud
• Your data is protected by an enterprise class firewall and multiple levels of physical security.
• There is no risk from disgruntled employees as long as passwords are changed regularly.
• The Security Expertise of your vendor may be beneficial while protecting your data from attacks.
• Security from Hardware failures.
Security Disadvantages of Public Cloud
• Your data travels all over the internet and is vulnerable to multiple types of attacks.
• You are at the mercy of just a user id and password – that’s all that is required to access your data from anywhere in the world.
• Your site may be physically accessed by other tenants.
• You are totally dependent on the whims of the cloud vendor.
Conclusion
Having evaluated your business needs and your desired level of security, you will decide on the right type of cloud computing for your organisation. However, you need not necessarily have to choose only one option. Perhaps you can take advantage of the best of both worlds. Hybrid cloud combines private cloud with public cloud and takes advantage of what each has to offer.
For more information regarding Aspira’s cloud solutions contact us on: info@aspira.ie
