In this article, we discuss the cloud computing deployment models. To serve the needs of a variety of consumers and varying operating, security, and privacy requirements of cloud tenants, the following cloud computing deployment models exist.
Public Cloud
Public cloud services are offered by the cloud provider on a public network, for example Internet. Public cloud is shared among several organizations and therefore, they share the cost of the procured services. In this cloud, the consumers do not have any control over the applications and data because all the operations are overseen by the provider. Moreover, as per the changing demands, it gives the consumers the flexibility to scale-up or scale-down. Due to its very nature, there are certain vital concerns, for example privacy and security of the data.
Private Cloud
In contrast to the public cloud, the private cloud is used by a single organization without sharing with other organizations. Consequently, the organization has greater control over data and hence better security as compared to the public cloud. In this case, the management operations are the responsibility of the organization.
Community Cloud
The community cloud is shared by the organization or stakeholders having similar domains, for example banks, healthcare organizations etc. Due to the similar nature of businesses, the requirements and concerns of the participating organizations are mostly similar too. The community cloud can both be managed by the organizations themselves or any third-party provider.
Hybrid Cloud
In this deployment model, the characteristics of both the public and private cloud are combined. Some of the services are managed on-premises whereas others can be procured from the third-party providers. Therefore, this model offers the organizations both the control over their sensitive data as well as the flexibility to get the benefits of scaled services of the public cloud.
Learn about virtualization in cloud computing.
Learn about top 10 cloud service providers.
