How many types of cloud are there?

Before we start, it is worth reading our previous article, “What is the cloud?”, where we explain how it works. It will make everything below easier to follow.

Let's begin with the short version: clouds come in three types — private, public and hybrid.

Private

This is when a company deploys computing resources that are available to that company and to nobody else. It tends to be the choice of very large organizations, the ones that can afford both the specialized equipment and the qualified people needed to keep it all running properly.

Public

Here you rent those resources and pay for what you consume. Amazon, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are the familiar examples. One thing worth clearing up: “public” does not mean the whole world can see what you store or do there. It simply means anyone can rent this kind of cloud. For a small business or a young company it is usually the right call, because you pay only for what you use and need no large investment to get going.

Hybrid

As the name suggests, this is a mix of the two. Some companies keep part of their operation on a private cloud for reasons of confidentiality or internal policy, and buy whatever else they need on a pay-per-use basis from a public provider. The upfront and running costs come out lower than going fully private, which is why large and mid-sized companies tend to land here.

Understanding the cloud and making the most of it is now part of running any business, whatever its size. Knowing what it is and how it works is worth the time for anyone who uses technology at work.

Remember: technology isn't complicated — and we'll explain it in plain language.

Tell us which type of cloud you use at your company. See you in the next one.