Public vs Private Cloud Solutions for Small Businesses

Cloud computing solutions are gaining popularity in small businesses. According to research by Gartner, up to 60% of business owners will be relying on the cloud for hosting data by 2022, roughly doubling the numbers from 2018.

Since cloud solutions are being widely adopted, providers are expanding their offerings to meet the needs of more businesses. These solutions branch off into public, private, and hybrid cloud solutions.

Public Cloud for Small Businesses

Public cloud solutions are available to anyone who pays to use the cloud service. Major public cloud service  providers include Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. These companies own and operate the cloud resources including servers and software. Public cloud deployments are frequently used to provide web-based email, online office applications, storage, and testing and development environments. “Public” meaning you’ll be sharing hardware and infrastructure with other cloud “tenants.”

Business owners using public clouds have lower IT costs because there’s no need to purchase hardware or software, and you pay only for the service you use. It cuts down on maintenance cost since the provider keeps the tech updated. 

Private Cloud for Small Businesses

Private clouds are different because the infrastructure is owned and maintained by one business. The server can be local, on-site or hosted by a third party.This allows a business to have more flexibility, security, and scalability with custom solutions. 

Hybrid Cloud Deployments

For our clients, we recommend hosting a private local server that backs up to a public cloud service like AWS. You get the benefits of a private storage and control but also keeping your backups safe off-site. Ask us about our CTERA Gateway deployments.