Which Cloud Model Is Right For You?
Public, private, or hybrid—what suits your agency best?
Once a novelty, cloud networks now personify the modern workspace. Businesses leveraging cloud deployments typically enjoy enhanced flexibility and productivity. Moreover, with the rise of remote work, the cloud has become crucial in attracting and retaining valuable talent. However, maximizing the benefits of your cloud network depends on selecting a deployment model that aligns with your organization’s goals. If you’re considering the cloud for your agency, you’ll need to choose between public, private, and hybrid options. Let’s explore the differences to help you determine the best route for your business.
Public Cloud Deployments
Public cloud networks rely on the infrastructure provided by third-party cloud service providers. In this setup, companies utilize shared resources and are often charged based on a pay-as-you-go model. Let’s delve into the pros and cons of this deployment model.
Pros:
- Greater accessibility: Public cloud providers often have a large service area, meaning agents can access vital tools and data from any location.
- Easier scalability: Public cloud providers typically offer flexible pricing models, which can be ideal for agencies seeking to scale their infrastructure up and down depending on business demand.
- Better focus on core business goals: Migrating to the public cloud offloads IT management to a third party, which empowers agencies to focus more on their transactions and customer relations.
Cons:
- Security concerns: Despite their robust features, the fact that resources are shared on a public cloud may trigger potential security and privacy concerns.
- Third-party dependence: Using the public cloud means your IT setup becomes largely dependent on a third-party provider.
- Cost overruns: Public cloud is rightly celebrated for its flexible pricing, but without careful due diligence, it can also lead to cost-overruns.
Private Cloud Deployments
Private cloud networks are designed for the exclusive use of a single organization and are managed either by the network’s owner or third-party. Here are a few of the benefits and potential drawbacks.
Pros:
- Customized security: Private networks enable administrators to create customized security controls and exercise greater data sovereignty, which greatly assists with compliance in regulated industries like title insurance.
- Performance gains: Plus, with private networks being designed for exclusive use, companies can potentially gain more consistent network performance.
- Effective resource allocation: Private clouds permit more effective control over digital resources, which optimizes an organization’s productivity and cost-effectiveness.
Cons:
- Up-front investment: Private clouds can involve sizable up-front costs, as businesses will need to invest in infrastructure like servers and networking equipment.
- Rigid structure: Relying on private clouds can pose problems for agencies if they want to make changes to their deployment setup. Investing in additional infrastructure may be required to support higher-intensity workloads.
- Higher maintenance costs: Maintaining a private cloud necessitates that agencies continually invest in sufficient resources like specialized IT knowledge, which can potentially strain budgets that could go toward other revenue-producing activities.
Hybrid Cloud Deployments
Aside from these two options, there is also the hybrid cloud deployment model, which combines elements of both public and private clouds. Hybrid-cloud organizations will typically host some resources, data and workloads within a private cloud while also utilizing third-party providers like AWS or Microsoft Azure. Check out the pros and cons of this approach.
Pros:
- A fluid model: Hybrid deployments can easily scale to meet fluctuating demand within the real estate industry and ensure optimal resource allocation.
- Cost-effective: Hybrid clouds afford agencies flexibility in how they use their cloud infrastructure. Agencies can leverage the public cloud during peak worktimes and avoid overprovisioning their private network.
- Customizable security: Hybrid cloud businesses can create customizable security measures regarding where they house critical data or workloads. Agencies deal with highly sensitive information. With hybrid cloud, this data can be kept out of a public network and managed on-premises for greater peace of mind.
Cons:
- Complex management: Managing a hybrid cloud can be complex. Agencies must be adept at navigating diverse environments and integrating various systems into a cohesive whole.
- Cost control: Using multiple cloud networks can cause billing headaches, as users sometimes find it difficult to track resource allocation, transfer data and reduce waste.
- Regulatory compliance roadblocks: Finally, hybrid clouds can create security and compliance risks with data that is moving between environments. Agencies will need to implement stringent controls to secure data that is “in-transit” between networks as well as data “at rest” within a single network.
Final Thoughts
As with any critical IT decision, all cloud deployments have their pros and cons. Before pulling the trigger, spend time talking critically about your business and what will work well for your team. Some considerations to mull over include your security requirements, budgets, current IT capabilities and future business projections. After having these important conversations, you can reference our list of pros and cons to select a network that will take your business to the next level.
Tags: business, cloud, cybersecurity