What to Consider When Deciding if Private Cloud Is Right for Your Firm

Many CIOs and CTOs of large enterprises are attracted to the single-tenant (or private cloud) environment. They may believe that a dedicated deployment model offers new opportunities for customization and integration that are not possible with a public or shared cloud. They may also believe that security and privacy can be enhanced in a private cloud because they’ll have more control over data, applications and services. When looking to deploy a private cloud, enterprises need to understand that single-tenant deployments have complex technical and business challenges that some cloud vendors may not have been able to meet. In this eWEEK slide show, Intermedia, a one-stop shop for cloud business applications, offers some domain expertise on what to consider when deciding if private cloud is right for your organization.

Do you need to customize both your network and storage? Perhaps you have IP address restrictions, in-line security appliances or other custom requirements. In many cases, a public cloud won’t work. A private cloud is often the only choice for customizations such as IPsec VPN connectivity, MPLS/peering available and co-located equipment or customized tape rotation.

There are a limited number of services available today in public clouds. Most enterprises manage at least some services that cannot be addressed by a public cloud offering, especially when it comes to integration with internal systems and custom applications. Therefore, one of the main advantages of a private cloud is the flexibility to integrate your line of business applications. Some examples could be a customized integration between hosted exchange and your business applications, integrated mobile device management (MDM) solutions, customer relationship management, custom SharePoint installations, unified messaging systems and content archiving systems.

Public clouds often leave IT managers with little to no control over the deployment schedule for product updates. This is problematic if they want to delay updates due to compatibility issues with internal systems or support policies. A private cloud can offer more control over the environment, which translates into more control over the roadmap. A private-cloud customer is often more empowered.

It’s a misconception that security is one of the main drivers of private cloud. However, companies requiring high levels of data security still gravitate toward dedicated deployments. In a private cloud, a customer’s data resides on its own server and the provider may add on the services of dedicated account managers and product managers to customize specific security parameters. In a multitenant environment, the provider typically standardizes the services provided, which leaves little room for additional security measures.

Are you looking for a continuous cross-site replication of data to ease disaster recovery? Some multitenant clouds offer replication in one data center by default and passive replication in the second one as a premium option. With a private cloud, you can get a customizable data replication environment that lets you choose multiple options in terms of the number of sites to have and how replication happens.

Being able to scale quickly is crucial for companies moving away from centralized servers and doing everything out of one location. With a hosted private cloud model, you are able to efficiently deploy new locations and expand your business while keeping the control and integration options that you have in an on-premises environment. Private cloud allows you to administer the workloads from anywhere and scale them as needed.

Mobile devices have no value in the workplace if they can’t access corporate applications and data. Additionally, MDM platforms are becoming critical in order to keep control of the devices and secure access to data. Private cloud infrastructure makes it easier for IT to provide full access to data and applications while integrating with MDM solutions already implemented.

Dealing with new compliance security standards is one of the top fears that keep IT executives awake at night. A managed private cloud model hosted by a cloud vendor provides the same level of compliance that you get in the managed public cloud model. Additionally, you have more options for security customization and controls than you would in a public cloud, allowing you to more easily comply with industry regulations, such as HIPAA or FINRA.