Did you know that 83 percent of enterprise workloads are already stored in the cloud? By 2025, the total number is expected to exceed 100 Zettabytes.
Clearly, a lot of companies trust their work to remain safe in clouds. Not only is this method a cheaper option, but it’s usually more reliable and accessible as well. What a lot of companies don’t have figured out, however, is what storage option they’d like to use.
With everything from hosted private clouds to free public clouds, it can be overwhelming to choose a system that works for you. Further, where are those clouds even hosted? Luckily, we’re here to help to learn everything.
Read on to learn more about private clouds, and where the information inside is hosted.
What Is a Private Cloud?
Put simply, a private cloud is a cloud that’s only offered to one organization. They are typically hosted at a data center managed by the company, and it’s only accessed by that company.
Since there are only a few people using this cloud, it ends up being more efficient, powerful, and even scalable. If you’re making the transition from a public to a private cloud, it’s like the equivalent of having your own bathroom after you’ve had to share one your entire life.
More freedom, more usage, and no need to worry about the other people that might need to use it!
What Are Hosted Private Clouds?
A hosted private cloud is the same as a private cloud, but the data inside is stored off-premises rather than on. So, third parties are going to be the ones managing your data, and the cloud is going to be hosted remotely.
Some companies offer different cloud companies, but it’s important that you’re not sold on just one hosting company. There are a lot of different options out there, and it’s important that you find the best fit for your business, and that the company you’re working with offers access to them.
What Is a Public Cloud?
Public clouds are the most common type of storage. The servers and storage are owned by a third-party cloud provider, and the services are delivered via the internet.
With a public cloud, all of the hardware, software, and other infrastructure tools are owned and managed by the provider. With this option, you’ll share the same hardware, storage, and network devices as other users, and you’ll access these services through a web browser of your choice.
A few popular public cloud options include Rackspace and Microsoft Azure.
With a public cloud, you’re still sharing a bathroom, but the people around you actually help keep it clean. You’re not going to notice many hiccups with its use.
Private Cloud vs. Public Cloud
You might think that hosting your data in a private cloud is automatically the better option, but that might not be the case for everyone.
While you do get access to your own cloud with private hosting, you gain access to nationwide networks when you go public. Private cloud hosting is perfect for those looking for an option they can scale and build up themselves, but not every company is going to need that.
That’s where a public cloud comes in handy. You’re also going to have cheaper options since your hardware is owned by a third party.
With a private cloud, you’re going to be able to access a lot more customization and even faster speeds since your resources are only being used by you.
Which Is Better?
In short, the answer is going to depend upon your needs. That’s why it’s important to choose a service provider that can take the things you’re asking for and create a plan that’s tailored exactly to what you’re looking to find from your cloud.
If you’re managing a small business by yourself, then you might be able to get by with public cloud storage, but that won’t always be the case. If you’re a solo video editor, then you might benefit from having hardware and resources that are all your own.
Can You Create a Hybrid?
The best thing about cloud storage? You’re not limited to one option. You can combine any number of storage types for your business to create the perfect solution for you.
This is called the hybrid cloud model, and it’s a popular option that many businesses choose to take advantage of. This is a combination of both private and public cloud models, and it allows you to dictate which services go where. It’s a whole new level of control over your data, and it’s the perfect medium between private and public services.
This strategy also allows you to avoid the weaknesses in both.
How to Migrate to the Cloud
Without proper planning, migrating to the cloud can come with a lot of mistakes. It’s not something that has to seem world-altering for your company. In fact, the more you ease into it the better.
It’s important to not walk into this process expecting everything to change overnight. The results might be slow, but they’ll be well worth it in the end.
Who Is Spearheading the Effort?
The very first thing to decide: who is in charge of leading the migration?
If you’re using a cloud computing Los Angeles based company, then get to know your point person on the project.
This person is going to be in charge of planning and completing any and all aspects of the migration. Their core responsibility should be defining necessary changes that will make the migration successful, strategy planning for the migration, and determining the priorities throughout the process.
There are a lot of decisions that have to be made and having one person (or a team of people) in charge of it all can make everything feel less overwhelming.
Make a Plan, Have a Purpose
To start, you’ll need to have a plan. Why are you making this change in the first place? Does your business stand to gain anything from it, or are you only doing it out of convenience?
This is going to require a clear understanding of the applications your company already uses, and any that you intend to take on. So, start with auditing your digital assets, and deciding what you can afford to delete and what should stay.
Are there any apps that you could introduce after moving into the cloud? How would you go about implementing them into your systems?
When you’re making these decisions, you’ll have to zoom out and see how one decision might affect the rest of the chain’s overall success. Often, apps require integration and can become dependent on one another to work properly. If you remove one, then you can ruin an entire workflow.
This is how the entire process can look. When you’re creating your plan, make sure you’re not only getting caught up in small details. Be sure to look at the big picture in order to see what exactly will work and what won’t.
If you’re a local business, working with a Los Angeles IT support company can have a great deal of advantages. You want to make sure the cloud is set up properly and meets your specific specs.
Evaluate Costs and Needs
This is where having a service provider is going to come in handy. They’ll be able to help you create a budget and decide what models and programs might work best for you and your team, and what’s best left behind.
During this step, you’re going to choose your cloud model: public, private, or hybrid? Once you’ve done this, you can start making all the necessary changes.
Work With Staff
It’s important that your staff is trained to work with cloud applications. There won’t be as many questions when the time comes to migrate, and you won’t have to worry about accidental data losses.
Automate Your Backups
No matter what your plan or provider, they should have options available for flexible and automated backups. If this isn’t the case, then it’s best to find a different provider. Automating this particular thing is important, as it’s going to help you keep track of your data, and it’s going to prevent a lot of unhappy accidents from occurring.
Test the Waters
Before you migrate, set up a test environment for your cloud migration. Examine how your backup plan performs when disaster strikes, and perform the test as many times as you can before you migrate.
This step of the process might end up being time-consuming, but taking the time to thoroughly study the old system in order to make way for the new is important for your migration’s overall success.
For the best results, plan out your test scenarios along with your migration testing strategy, and then run tests on both. If you find errors, take the time to fix them and then test again.
Don’t rush this process. If you do, you’re a lot more likely to run into problems later down the line.
Time to Migrate
Once you’ve got everything set up, it’s time to put your plan into action. At this stage, you’ll begin moving all the data and its users over to the cloud infrastructure.
During this process, it’s important to remember that you can do a little bit at a time. Rushing through things is only going to make everything harder, and it’s going to leave you vulnerable to mistakes and even possible security breaches.
Conduct Security Tests
That brings us to our last step. You should be conducting security tests before you start, during the migration, and after everything is set up and ready to go.
When you’re designing these tests, make sure you take note of whose going to have access to the data, where and when they might need to access it, and even how that data is stored when it’s idle.
The more thorough you can be during this process, the better the results you’re going to find.
Benefits of Migrating to the Cloud
If you’re still considering whether or not to adopt the cloud into your company’s processes, here are a few benefits you stand to gain.
- Less demand for increasing resources
- Ability to innovate more quickly
- Reduced costs
- Deliver immediate results
- Easier management
- Cloud scalability
- Improved performance
Any one of these things alone would be enough to convince some, but when you combine them all together you get the perfect resource to call your own.
With a cloud operating model, a lot of processes are operated by analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI). Automating your processes in this way has the power to save you time and money almost instantly, but also later down the road.
Automation is something that a lot of businesses don’t feel the need to take on, but really it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Cloud solutions don’t require a huge learning curve, and they’re convenient to switch to with little time and planning. With the right service provider, you’ll be well on your way to automation in no time.
Which Is Best for You?
So, which service is going to end up being the best for you? Ultimately, that’s for you to decide, but it’s easy to figure things out when you’re able to switch and try different options. That’s the beauty of cloud services.
You can start with a hybrid model if you’d like to access both public and private clouds. If you find you prefer one over the other, then you can switch to only private or only public.
Ready to Get Started?
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of private clouds, are you ready to get started? Whether this is your first time using cloud storage systems or you’re just thinking about making an upgrade, private clouds have something to offer you and your business.
Luckily, Be Structured is here to help you get started. Our team of experts can help you pick the perfect system for you and your team and have you back in business in no time. Contact us to schedule a free consultation today.
