Knowledge Byte: Selecting a Cloud Deployment Model

Not sure which cloud deployment model would make more sense for your organization?

The following table lists some of the points to be considered for selecting a cloud deployment model.

Public Cloud

Public cloud is one potential solution of migrating to cloud computing. The following pointers illustrate the criteria to determine if a public cloud is the right strategy for an organization:

• The organization plans to develop and test applications with scalability requirements
• The technical team within the organization do not have a lot of virtualization or cloud experience
• The organization does not have capital budget for the project
• The organization needs to get the application up and running quickly
• The organization has to keep the project at minimum cost
• The organization is comfortable making its applications and data available over the public Internet
• The demand for the cloud service can be highly unpredictable

Private or Community Cloud

Private or community clouds are another potential solution of migrating to cloud computing. The following pointers illustrate the criteria to determine if a private or community cloud(on-site or outsourced) is the right strategy for an organization:

• The organization works with sensitive or confidential information
• The organization has very stringent latency or performance requirements
• The organization needs to adhere to strict compliance regulations and privacy laws
• The organization has a sufficient capital budget to form an internal cloud infrastructure
• The organization has sufficient skills in virtualization and cloud experience
• The organization has a good in-house technical team

Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid clouds are also a potential solution to migrating to cloud computing. The following pointers illustrate the criteria to determine, if a hybrid cloud is the right strategy for an organization:

• The organization can entrust their data to the cloud
• The organization can do a niche function cheaper, better or faster
• The organization is not sure about committing to the cloud
• The organization can test cloud provider’s capabilities and support abilities
• The organization needs a temporary solution
• The organization needs lower cost redundancy
• The organization needs analytics immediately