Many businesses are transitioning from cloud-hosting providers, such as Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure, to managed Private Cloud services to manage critical software and services that power their business.
Although cloud-based hosting (from Azure or AWS) offers numerous benefits, as these services scale, significant issues arise for companies dependent on them.
At the same time, there is a surge of “cloud repatriation”. These are businesses taking better control of their own data for many reasons including: lower costs, better internal policy control, stronger security, and cheaper data storage (to name a few).
Britec has identified several key shortcomings in the public cloud:
- Data and bandwidth costs are on the rise.
While many startups start using a cloud provider to better manage cost and scope, as companies grow and mature the cost of the public cloud can grow out of control. - Obtaining support from public cloud providers can be either slow or highly expensive.
Utilizing public cloud services from companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google makes accessing timely and cost-effective support increasingly challenging. Without premium support subscriptions, assistance may take days or even weeks. - Security is increasingly challenging to manage in the public cloud.
Managing internal policies and security is a vital part of operating any network. The public cloud is turning into the ‘wild west’ from a security point of view – requiring more and more dedicated resources to keep up with. - Downtime is incredibly difficult to manage.
If services such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud are down… then everyone is down. No one gets good customer service, and you just have to wait. A private business cloud can mitigate these issues more than a public cloud can. - Data residency is difficult to control and inconsistent.
Managing regulations around sensitive customer data and where that data is physically located in the world is a hot topic. From insurance to regulation, strict control of data residency is becoming more and more important. The public cloud doesn’t give you that control.
Why are Private Business Clouds growing?
The Private Cloud is typically managed by your IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) or internal IT department. They typically involve a co-located server, virtual servers, or an on-premises server which is built to act as a secure and fast “Private Business Cloud”.
This doesn’t mean that we stop using public cloud services from Microsoft, Google, Amazon, or others. The purpose of the Private Business Cloud is to host network and software infrastructure which is critical to business operations. Examples of this include services such as document management, ERP and accounting systems, internal reporting, and databases.
The Private Cloud gives a business:
- Better cost controls and guaranteed rates
- More control (over every aspect of network architecture and management)
- Faster and better local support (versus an international call centre)
- Data residency and regulatory control of what countries your data sits in
- Lower latency and faster speeds for internal teams
What should businesses do?
The great migration of Public to Private Cloud is driven by a wide range of factors from the year-over-year cost to superior speed and storage, to more overall control. At the same time, the Private Business Cloud needs to be properly engineered and managed.
Britec is helping the business community to evaluate the costs and benefits of what to have in the Private Business Cloud versus the public cloud. Businesses need to make informed, long-term decisions so they can focus on operations and growth.
It is important to assess and reassess network, data, and application strategies on an ongoing basis.
If you’re struggling with what actions to take for your business, Britec can help.
Learn more about our Private Business Cloud services here.
