The Different Types of Cloud Computing, Explained

Is your small business considering cloud computing?

Perhaps you’ve heard that 94% of SMBs currently take advantage of the security benefits that the cloud brings? Or that 41% of small business owners favor the public cloud. And that by the end of the year the majority will fully adopt cloud computing?

This article highlights the different types of cloud computing and explains how your company can benefit from them.

Read on to learn about public versus private cloud solutions. Discover how to shift your systems fully online with SaaS and IaaS. Then learn how to access the benefits of cloud computing through the right provider.

What Is Cloud Computing?

The term cloud computing refers to a collection of IT-related services that are hosted online.

Businesses of all sizes use the immense size and scope of the Internet to increase their own capacity. Instead of hosting data, apps, and services on their own internal network, they push them to the cloud.

They do this because the cloud’s processing power and data storage limits far outweigh their own systems. Economies of scale reduce costs and operations run faster.

But before we explore the benefits, what are the different types of cloud computing? And what do they offer?

Different Types of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing falls into four distinct types:

1. Public cloud
2. Private cloud
3. Hybrid cloud
4. Community cloud

The public cloud is accessible to any size or type of business on a pay-per-use basis. The more data and resources you store or consume the more you pay.

Enterprises often use private cloud solutions to host their IT needs.

They own their own servers and place them in a data center. Hybrid and community solutions let them combine public and private systems together.

Public vs Private Cloud

Small and medium-sized businesses with a tight budget use the public cloud to deploy IT resources.

Set-up is quick and they can use cloud services like SaaS (Software as a Service) to easily access apps. They can even virtualize their employees’ desktops through IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

Private cloud adoption is mostly limited to larger companies with the finances and the need to host private data securely.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

SMBs thinking of upgrading to the cloud can benefit from:

• Hardware savings – less capital expenditure and maintenance
• Fast set-up – install a cloud service within minutes
• Back-up data – store your essential information securely
• Reliability – the cloud offers 99.9% uptime

Now you see what many small business owners want to move to the cloud. The question is, who do they use?

Business Cloud Computing Providers

Selecting the right IT service cloud provider is a pivotal step in committing your business to the cloud.

Research several providers, not just Amazon or Azure. That’s especially important for local cloud providers.

Whether you live in New Jersey or New England, try to select the closest company. They’re more likely to relate to small businesses like yours and can provide personal support.

That’s essential when building your initial cloud strategy.

More Tech Articles at the Small Business Brief

This article outlines the different types of cloud computing and how small businesses can benefit from them.

Deciding if a public or private cloud solution is right for you can save you money and provide better performance. The essential tip is to choose the right cloud provider, one that will guide you on the right platform for your company.

Learn more about cloud computing for your small business in our articles section

Our Small Business Toolbox and Forum also provide invaluable advice on hosting your data online. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and receive content directly to your inbox.