By Michael Brown 1

Earlier this year I discussed the options available to MSPs pertaining to public, private and hybrid clouds and what the determining factors should be for choosing a model for clients as you expand services from cloud-based file sharing. While the “debate” has raged on, the playing field has become much less murky. I say “debate” with quotes, because it really isn’t a debate at all. It is an objective decision that is different for each individual company. Although articles like this one from Forbes will use phrases like “So, what is the right answer?” there really is no right answer.

As the differences and use cases of public and private clouds have become more clear to the masses, and more companies are comfortable making transitions to the cloud, it has become more apparent that a particular type of cloud isn’t suited for a particular company, but a particular type of cloud is suited for a particular function.

 Public Cloud Functionality

Public clouds are suited for corporate functions that have less emphasis on protecting private data. They have security measures of course, but not like those of private clouds, which a company will not share space with other users. Departments within a business that find they need to ramp up or down their computing and file sharing regularly, or need to make changes to cloud agreements will find that the public domain is much better suited to handle these varying needs. Since their cloud servers are utilized by many companies, they can afford to be more flexible with usage changes.

Private Cloud Functionality

On the opposite end of the spectrum those areas within a company that are more sensitive to security needs (customer data, financials, payment information etc.) are going to necessitate a private cloud option. Private clouds are customizable and can be configured to a single client and therefore can offer the security and compliance necessary for that particular function of the business. Departments adhering to strict regulations concerning data transfer and storage will need a private cloud vendor.

Hybrid Clouds and MSPs

As companies begin to look at cloud vendors for specific functions rather than for companies as a whole, MSPs can easily capitalize on the desire for hybrid cloud solutions. An MSP with expertise in cloud vendors and management can offer the company exactly what it needs: higher flexibility and lower costs via public clouds for specific corporate functions AND added security and regulation compliance via private clouds for others.

The hybrid cloud will likely trump both private and public cloud models moving forward. It only makes sense. Different business functions require different tools, and it would be silly to give every department in the company the same set of tools to complete drastically different tasks.