Choosing a Cloud
"Which one is right for your business?"
Cloud-based IT
Cloud-based IT has been a buzz word for almost a decade now, and there are a number of business benefits to having your IT in one central location, instead of spread across several local ones. But being ‘in the cloud’ can mean many different things, so how do you know which cloud solution is right for your business?
StoreSmart Integrations
Private cloud
A private cloud is where you define your own cloud environment, based on the needs of your business. Together with your provider, you define what security level, access level, backup frequency etc fits your business. Your data is held separately from anyone else’s and since you define your own environment and service levels, a private cloud is as flexible as you want it to be. If your business takes a new direction or changes focus, you can easily adapt your IT setup to fit your new business structure. You can read more about what types of private cloud environments we provide.
Cloud environments
Public cloud
A public cloud is where you buy access to an isolated system or set of systems in a multi-tenant server environment. Your provider dictates the terms of use, support levels, service windows etc, and you choose the package that best fits your needs. Typically, your data will be held alongside other companies’ data and you have little or no influence over how securely your data is held or who has access to it. For that reason, public cloud applications are best suited for systems that don’t hold business critical/sensitive data, or for systems that are not so critical to your operation that you want to be in control of security levels, backup routines and so on.
Hybrid cloud
A hybrid cloud is where you combine the public and private cloud in a way that makes sense to your business. In most cases, a hybrid cloud environment will mean that you have most of your IT systems in one private cloud space and that there are a few systems that sit outside that space. There is constant contact and information exchange between these systems, set up in a secure way. This can for example be with an access control system, a CRM system or other business systems that, for one reason or the other, are not ideal to place in a private cloud environment. In these cases, a hybrid cloud is best. You can read more about our approach to hybrid cloud environments.
Christel Friberg Land says:
"If you want a future-proof IT setup, the private or hybrid cloud solutions are the best options. With a public cloud service, your business needs to conform to the setup that your provider defines. In a hybrid or private cloud setup, you are the one in control and whatever direction your business goes, your IT can easily follow suit."
Curious about our cloud solutions?
Amongst our many competencies, giving you advice on which suit you should buy is not one of them. But we do know a whole lot about cloud environments and which ones are best for different companies. So if you would like a second opinion on your current setup, or better understand how a change might benefit you in the long run, we are always happy to have that conversation.
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Think of it as buying a suit...
Choosing a cloud environment is a bit like buying a suit:
You can choose to go to a high street shop and buy a suit; this would be your public cloud equivalent. Your suit will come in a number of sizes, and you choose the one that fits you best.
You could also choose to have your suit tailor-made; this would be your private cloud equivalent. Your suit would be made using your exact measurements and you would be sure that by the end of it, your new suit would fit you like a glove.
Clouds and suits are different, right?
The only difference between the cloud and your suit would be that in most cases, a tailor-made suit would be more expensive than the high street equivalent. The same isn’t true for cloud environments. For most businesses, the gains from consolidating everything you do in one place, outweighs the extra cost of having dedicated technical resources that are yours and yours alone.
Your last suit buying option would be to buy a high street suit and then take it to a tailor to have it altered to fit you better. This would be your hybrid cloud equivalent. In this scenario, you would start out with something standardised, but make as many individual alterations as possible in order to make your suit fit you better.