Finding the right cloud service for your business

Written by Nikit Kothari, Executive Director, Brickendon

Since 2010, the cloud adoption rate for UK businesses has increased by 88% and this figure will continue to grow as the results and capabilities of the technology are continuously showcased. As cloud services are becoming more widely accepted by the business community and integrated into day-to-day operations, its integral businesses match their needs to the right cloud service.

Adoption of the cloud offers increased scalability, reliability and significant cost savings for businesses that embrace it. Over the years, Brickendon has helped businesses in matching them with the right cloud services to fast track their objectives.

With that in mind, it’s imperative businesses thinking of switching to the cloud gain an in-depth understanding of the existing cloud-based technologies available and evaluate this against their business needs and objectives. One of the main challenges of adopting cloud services is knowing where to begin. As a result, we’ve compiled an overview of the types of services available to help FastTrack your business goals.

Different types of cloud

Following the growing demand for cloud services, three distinct versions have risen. Firstly, the private cloud, an internal version of the cloud managed by IT teams; secondly, the public cloud, which is hosted by a private third-party; and thirdly, the hybrid cloud, which is a mix of the private and public clouds.

Private cloud

A private cloud is only accessible by a single organisation, serving just the businesses that embrace it. As it’s only accessible by a single organisation, this cloud is the more secure option out of the three.

The benefits of moving traditional desktops to this model are vast. Not only do businesses witness a reduction in costs, but a more simplified working environment which allows for greater flexibility. In addition, businesses have the ability to configure and manage this version and in doing so, can achieve a tailored network solution.

Public cloud

Rapid growth and demand for the private internal cloud caused strain on internal IT infrastructure teams and as a result, the public cloud was created.

Public clouds offer services to multiple clients using the same shared structure and are accessible over a public network, such as the internet. One of the main benefits of the public cloud is the significant reduction in costs and IT work-load, as the act of managing, maintaining, and procuring hardware shifts from businesses to cloud-service providers.

Hybrid cloud

As more and more businesses have begun to adopt cloud services, the hybrid cloud has become an attractive offer. Hybrid clouds combine the use of on-premises and public cloud structures, enabling private and public clouds to be used together by shifting workloads from one to the other.

A hybrid cloud allows you to combine many of the benefits of the public and private cloud, offering businesses the ability to gain a middle ground between the two. The pick and mix style of the cloud gives businesses the chance to explore a variety of operations and find the best fit for their business.  Not only does the model keep information safe and secure, it also has the ability to expand and use burst capability where necessary.

Completing the cloud puzzle

Like any other element of a business, a cloud service should be evaluated in-line with the goals and objectives of an organisation. In choosing the right cloud service, it is imperative that businesses determine and govern how the cloud can help in supporting the operations, as well as growing and evolving the whole business.

Once the decision has been made to transition over to cloud computing, businesses need to gain an in-depth understanding of the existing services and evaluate this against their requirements. More specifically, businesses need to assess the specific workloads they want to migrate over to the cloud and compare this against the cloud services available. Armed with this knowledge, businesses can effectively weigh up the pros and cons to determine which one will serve the greatest benefit.

Cloud services will have a profound impact on the future of the business community as the percentage of businesses adopting the new technology grows, in order to stay ahead of the curve and gain a competitive edge. An increasing number of businesses are recognising the many benefits of cloud computing, including a more efficiently run service and increased revenue.