A Private Cloud is a cloud environment where the computing resources are exclusively dedicated to one organization. As opposed to the Public Cloud, resources are not shared with other customers and, therefore, companies maintain greater control over the performance of their virtualized IT infrastructure.
Cloud environments are ideal for any type of businesses and projects. It is the most common cloud deployment model to host mission-critical data and applications in need of high performance, availability and security levels.
Main Private Cloud benefits
Private Cloud environments offer the flexibility of the cloud while providing a higher level of performance, control, security and privacy.
Using a Private Cloud is similar to having a dedicated data center, while leveraging the advantages of the Cloud. Not only do companies no longer need to maintain their own infrastructure and dedicated servers, but they can also accelerate provisioning and deployment procedures.
Exclusive use of resources
The Private Cloud model offers similar advantages to owning a data center on-premises. When opting for this model, companies do not share their computing resources with other customers. This prevents their performance from being affected by the activity of other virtual machines within the same physical infrastructure; something that can happen in public cloud solutions where resources are often oversubscribed.
So, by keeping resources exclusive with a dedicated cloud, companies enjoy predictable performance, free of noisy neighbors.
Transparent and controlled costs
While scalability is important, so is keeping the IT budget under control. Unlike many people think, dedicated cloud environments such as those we design at Stackscale are truly competitive. A Private Cloud environment is often the most suitable choice in terms of cost-efficiency.
Most of the workloads in businesses are predictable and, therefore, it is more cost-efficient to run them in a Private Cloud than in a Public Cloud.
Thanks to the cloud, companies do not need to do large capital investments in purchasing and upgrading IT equipment and, at the same time, they can reduce management costs. However, the lack of transparency in some public cloud solutions often make cloud costs go through the roof. In a Private Cloud environment it is usually much easier. At Stackscale, for instance, we follow a transparent price structure and billing policy, so that customers know cloud infrastructure costs beforehand.
Therefore, compared to the substantial usage fees in public clouds and the costs associated with data center management in on-premise solutions, a private cloud infrastructure provides the best of both worlds.
Greater control and security
Customers enjoy greater security and control over their IT environment, since they do not share their resources with other customers. Besides, with the right protocols and measures in place, a private cloud offers further compliance and security compared with an on-premise data center.
Data protection
Private Cloud makes it easier to meet data protection requirements. With Private Cloud solutions, customers can easily know the location of their services. Moreover, regarding regulatory compliance, companies should always make sure the provider’s server location complies with their business’ local regulation. For instance, in order to comply with data protection laws in the European Union, it is most recommended to trust in reliable data centers within Europe.
Public Cloud vs Private Cloud
To sum up, here is a table with some of the most common differences between public cloud environments and private cloud environments.
| Public Cloud | Private Cloud |
| Shared resources | Dedicated resources |
| Hosted by a cloud service provider | Hosted by a cloud service provider or in-house |
| Connectivity over the public Internet | Connectivity over the public Internet or over a secure private network |
| Proprietary standards | Open standards |
| Low initial costs | Controlled costs over time |
| Requires a high level of security on the company’s behalf. It does not include dedicated proactive monitoring. | Requires a medium level of security on the company’s behalf. It includes dedicated proactive monitoring. |
| Ideal for handling unusual traffic peaks | Ideal for mission-critical IT workloads |
| Low visibility and control into the infrastructure | High visibility and control into the infrastructure |
| High scalability | High scalability when opting for a hosted private cloud |
| Suitable for non-sensitive information | Suitable for sensitive data |
You can discover more about the differences between the public and private cloud in the post about Stackscale’s private cloud vs public cloud.
From on-premise to hosted Private Cloud
Private Clouds were traditionally hosted on-premises, within the company’s facilities. However, this approach is becoming less and less common. Why is it so? Because a Private Cloud hosted by a cloud service provider makes it easier to leverage the advantages of the cloud.
- A hosted Private Cloud allows companies to scale more easily.
- Companies do not need to maintain, manage and upgrade their own physical infrastructure.
- The IT team can focus on tasks adding more value to the business.
How is private cloud different from on-premise
Increased productivity, a shorter time-to-market and cost optimization are some of the benefits of having a private cloud. Here is a table comparing the main differences between a private cloud environment and an on-premise data center.
| Private cloud | On-premise |
| OPEX model | CAPEX model |
| OPEX savings thanks to outsourcing management and maintenance | High operational expenditure related to data center management and maintenance, and recruitment |
| High scalability | Low scalability |
| High-Availability at a competitive price | High-Availability is more expensive to achieve |
| Affordable 24/7 support and monitoring | Costly 24/7 support and monitoring |
| Affordable and competitive business continuity and disaster recovery, thanks to a greater level of security and redundancy | Achieving the same level of business continuity and disaster recovery is harder and less cost-efficient |
To sum up, among the different types of cloud, the Private Cloud stands out for offering exclusive use of resources, high-performance and greater security and privacy. Therefore, if you are looking for a secure, reliable and cost-efficient cloud solution for your mission critical applications, do not hesitate to contact our Private Cloud experts for a custom quote.
