Choosing a private cloud option gives your business all the dedicated services and support it will need, plus you will have complete control over your own cloud space, and customize it, and manage it to the specific needs of your business. But as it compares with public cloud options, there are considerations to review, and expense is one of them. So let’s look at the private cloud pros and cons right away:

Private Cloud Pros

There are three primary benefits to having a private cloud-supported network:

1.Your network is far less likely to be targeted by hackers.

Hackers are far more likely to target known public cloud providers. Private cloud is, by its very nature, obscured from general view.

2. Your data is much safer.

Any business possessing private or sensitive data, such as:

• any medical practice
• bank
• attorney office
• any business that manages customer personal and payment information
• any firm possessing proprietary information, research, or innovation

will be wise to keep that data in a private cloud environment. Not only because private cloud environments are largely unknown to cyber criminals, but also because investing in a private cloud solution, with the management that comes with that solution, will provide a comprehensive data security set of software that will protect that data in ways that are not typical with a public cloud solution.

3. Well-functioning data management, intelligence, and software applications.

All the processes your business uses, that manage and interpret your data, will work in a private cloud environment. Public cloud cannot say the same. Any company utilizing a custom software application may have to commit to re-writing that software before it would be supported in a public cloud environment, whereas in a private cloud this would not be necessary. Similarly, any company that utilizes, promotes, or sells the use of proprietary software solutions will certainly want to have it in a private cloud. Not only will a private cloud be able to support the software, but all that proprietary data will be kept safe. Furthermore, the connectivity to private cloud is safer. Public cloud relies on a public connection, which is easier to compromise. Private cloud solutions rely on dedicated connections. This translates to a reduction in security threats, better performance, better network visibility, and faster network provisioning.

Private Cloud Cons

1. Private Cloud puts higher responsibility on you.

One of the attractions of public cloud is that the entire management of public cloud infrastructure is the responsibility of the public cloud provider, and what you get is a pre-packaged, generic set of solutions. Having a private cloud means it must be supported by a managed security service provider (MSSP), with engineers and IT support specialists expert at the management of your network, and also expert at designing data security and network architecture that is custom to your needs. You must be responsible for choosing a good MSSP for your business and articulating all of your network needs.

Higher responsibility on you, however…

Although you have the sense that you must take on a new extension of your office to manage your network, the truth is that you are choosing a management service that will provide customer care and prioritized service that would have been completely unavailable with a public cloud service. You will have a network that precisely fits the needs of your business, with the help of network experts that also know your specific needs.

2. Higher upfront cost.

Out of the gate, private cloud stacks up as more expensive than public cloud. Higher levels of protection and better data control require more investment in the services that support it:

• Having absolute control over your data means also investing in the software that is able to manage it the way you want.
• Contracting with an MSSP will have a steeper price tag than choosing a public cloud plan. The IT professionals that will care for the proper setup and the ongoing provisioning and maintenance required with private infrastructure will cost more than a generic plan with a public cloud.

Higher upfront cost, however…

It is often the experience of businesses, who have used (or are using) both public and private hosting (called a hybrid solution), that in the final analysis the cost disparity is a distinction without a difference.

• The time and money spent on re-designing a software application to be supported in a public cloud environment might have been money better used, with less time spent, on putting it in a private cloud with the original data that worked, and with better security to boot.

• Or, in the heat of a ransomware attack, there is the regret that that comes when one realizes, in retrospect, that investing in the better security of a private cloud solution would have been wise, and much less expensive.

In other words, private cloud as a service will likely prove to be the more cost-efficient service. This often translates to cost savings and business profitability over time that would outpace what the business would experience if it were relying on a public cloud service.

Final Analysis: When Private Cloud Would be the Better Decision

While public cloud comes with a number of general business apps that can take care of the needs of most companies, private allows for:

Competitive Edge
Private Cloud will support the use of whatever distinctive business apps are more likely to give your business the competitive edge you need over competition

Business Expandability
Private can help businesses with multiple offices in remote locations work off of the same data, and with a cleaner, easier path to expansion.

Privacy:
Any business responsible for the management of sensitive information, whether this be customer credit card information, patient health records, Social Security or other identity information, should keep this data in a private cloud solution.

Remember that the benefit of public cloud is using a pre-packaged infrastructure that comes with the use of the hardware and software of a third-party provider. If yours is a business that handles non-sensitive data and general file types, things that do not require special management or protection, then public cloud will suffice and be the best solution for you. With private cloud, however, you take a hand in the set up your own software and network infrastructure by engaging the services of an MSSP, but this results in a network designed for profitability, functionality, and security, and is the right choice of any business handling data that is sensitive or proprietary. With public you compromise security and control to save some money; with private you pay more money and take on more responsibility, yet you have your network in a much more secure environment and completely under your own control. Some companies choose a hybrid solution –  to manage a portion of their network in public, and a portion in private, as makes the best sense for the data being managed. MSSP services can help with hybrid solutions, too.

So which cloud solution is best for your business? The answer is ultimately up to you. It could be public, private… or both!