Businesses pursuing the cloud are faced with the existential question – public or private cloud? Each has its merits that should be considered as per one’s business goals. Here are five factors you must consider prior to choosing a cloud platform.

Accessibility and usage

Each corporation has requirements unique to its business. For example, you have to consider if you can use SaaS the way it was designed or whether you need to alter it according to your requirements, which adds to the cost. Some applications even need dedicated hardware and even though they are offered by vendors, it affects workflow and can make application latency an issue. Implementation, accessibility and on-going operation come easily with private cloud. But if you are considering a public cloud, ensure that the vendor has the server clout that can handle high-performance apps.

Security

In the past few years, there have been many instances of cloud service breaches and several major businesses have suffered from them. Data security is a major concern regarding public cloud services. Although vendors effectively secure the public cloud infrastructure, various corporations are concerned about the implications of depending solely on them as any crack in their security can result in a negative impact on the bottom lines of these corporations. In a private cloud infrastructure, on the flip side, a number of firewalls can be implemented to safeguard data against external threats.

Cost

Flexible payment options concerning cloud infrastructure has given a whole new meaning to the economic expenditure. But the costs of implementing and maintaining private cloud services can bruise, if not break the economy of an organisation. The cost of buying servers, hardware and software along with hiring staff for maintenance is often far more than the prices asked by public cloud vendors. If you no longer need the setup for particular task in private cloud, the equipment just wastes away. That stated, the long-term cost of leasing public cloud continually can exceed the total cost of managing in-house cloud, especially if the data load increases.

Integration and Operation

Integrating the existing IT infrastructure with cloud is another major aspect. Business processes need specific tools for workflow and these tools must be integrated well with the cloud. Private cloud offers the ability to easily integrate business tools but at the cost of elastic capabilities. If the model of your business operations depends on a role-based environment, you must consider the requirement of diverse equipment and capabilities and how they fit in private or public infrastructure.

Scalability

The on-demand availability of public cloud makes it preferable by many organizations. Vendor services make it easy to scale up or down to adjust changes in requirements and environment. You only have to invest in the services that are required at any given time.

Private and public clouds come with management implications, however, selecting a vendor-based solution gives your organization ability to unload most of the management responsibility on the vendor.

Data Backup

A small business owner should be aware of the importance of backups. System failures can be a risky situation in case of an infrastructure that is still in its nascent stages – something that is common in SMBs. The cloud is a great help here as it breaks down the process by allowing your data to automatically update as you work and also create copies of your data off-site where it will be protected from any looming disaster, theft or accident.

Sharing Info

Sharing data is easier with the cloud due to the ease-of-access. SMBs can now share data across an in-house staff and a team onsite through great distances, instantaneously. Emailing cumbersome files can often slow down work and this is where the cloud comes to play. Moreover, the cloud is also a safer option for sharing data compared to physical means.

File Storage

SMBs need all the marketing they can get for timely expansion and brand recognition. Most direct marketing strategies require large amounts of media that include video, audio and images. Due to the rising access of technology, more and more consumers are accepting this part of promotion. However, all this data can take up a large amount of storage space on a physical server. The cloud can easily take this load off by letting your local server or system focus more on the local files.

Strategic Growth

Cloud computing is a scalable practice and hence enables SMBs to create plans for growth that use the advantages of the cloud without any significant investment. You don’t have to buy new equipment or software, you just pay for what you use. And you get access to the most robust hardware and up-to-date software. Many vendors offer cloud applications for SMBs that enable you to control costs and reduce IT budget, further facilitating staff efficiency and improving productivity immensely.