8 Reasons To Host on a Public Cloud

Once considered a novel approach, hosting on a public cloud has become the preferred way to build and scale applications.

Why?

In this post, we will explore the benefits of hosting your services on a public cloud, address common arguments against it, and talk about what it could mean for your business.

What is a Public Cloud?

A public cloud is a type of cloud computing where resources are shared over the internet. This means that multiple customers can use the same multi-tenant infrastructure, including servers, storage, and networking equipment, all managed by a third-party service provider.

These public clouds are typically operated by large tech companies such as OVHcloud, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, among others.

The core benefit behind the public cloud is that because you’re sharing resources with others, you share the cost of maintenance and usage. With a third-party provider at the helm, you’re not responsible for the heavy lifting of a dedicated data center.

Private vs Public Cloud

In contrast to a public cloud, a private cloud is a cloud computing model where resources are dedicated to a single organization. Private clouds are usually deployed on-premises, or in a data center, and managed by the organization's IT department. Like owning your own home, private clouds offer more control and customization, and can be expensive to set up and maintain since the complete cost of ownership falls on you.

Arguments Against Public Cloud

Security concerns: Hosting services on a public cloud could make organizations more vulnerable to security breaches.

Reality: Public cloud providers have more resources and expertise to devote to security than most organizations. Public clouds also typically offer a more comprehensive range of security features and tools than what’s available on-site.

Lack of control: Businesses have less control over their infrastructure.

Reality: Most public cloud providers offer a high degree of transparency and allow businesses to customize their services to their needs.

Data privacy concerns: Some businesses are hesitant to host their data on a public cloud due to data privacy concerns.

Reality: Public cloud providers are required to comply with various data privacy regulations, including GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, and more.

8 Reasons to Host on a Public Cloud

1. Scalability

Public clouds are designed to be highly scalable, so businesses can easily add or remove resources as needed.

This allows companies to respond quickly to changing needs and demands.

For example, if you experience a spike in web traffic, you can quickly scale up your resources to meet the demand. When traffic returns to normal, scale back down and only pay for the resources you need. This provides a significant advantage for organizations with fluctuating or unpredictable workloads.

If you’re a software as a service (SaaS) provider, you don’t have to guess what resources you need based on your existing and projected customer base. As your service becomes more popular, you can easily scale to demand.

2. Cost Savings

Since public clouds are shared by multiple tenants, they can offer significant savings over private clouds, especially up front. The service provider can spread the cost of infrastructure and maintenance across a more extensive customer base.

These public cloud providers also offer pay-as-you-go pricing models, so you only pay for resources used. In addition, they help businesses avoid high upfront costs when setting up and maintaining their on-premises infrastructure.

You also don’t have to chase third-party features like security or compliance, a public cloud provider will usually include these in the cost.

3. Ease of Maintenance

Hosting your own data center is a lot of work. There are physical components that need to be maintained, protected, and repaired. Public cloud providers handle all the underlying hardware and software management, leaving you free to focus on your applications and business logic.

4. Security

Public cloud providers have more resources and expertise to devote to security than organizations with an on-premise environment. They have dedicated security teams that monitor and manage the infrastructure 24/7. Additionally, public cloud providers offer a comprehensive range of security features and tools that aren’t readily available on-premise. This includes features like firewalls, intrusion detection, and data encryption.

5. Flexibility & Customization

Public cloud providers offer a wide range of services that can be tailored to suit individual needs. For example, you can choose from a range of storage options, virtual machine sizes, and networking options. This level of customization allows businesses to optimize their infrastructure to meet their specific requirements.

6. Built on Open Standards

Since the public cloud is built on open standards, you have access to tools and services that are compatible with their existing systems. It also means that customers have the freedom to switch between different public cloud providers or to move to a private cloud if necessary.

7. Transparency

Public cloud providers typically offer a high level of transparency. This means that customers have access to detailed information about the performance and reliability of their services. This level of transparency can help businesses to make decisions about their infrastructure and identify issues before they become critical.

8. Data Control

Businesses can choose where their data is stored, how it's protected, and who has access to it. This level of control helps businesses comply with regulatory requirements and to protect sensitive data.

Public Cloud Operating Models

There are several different ways providers can offer public cloud services.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS is a model in which the cloud provider offers virtualized computing resources - including servers, storage, and networking. You can use these resources to run your own applications and services.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS is a model where the cloud provider offers a platform for customers to build, run, and manage their own applications. For example, AWS and Salesforce are both examples of PaaS. This offering includes the underlying infrastructure, middleware, and development tools.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

A SaaS provider offers a complete software application Customers can access the software through a web browser or a mobile app. Examples of SaaS include Google Workspace, Salesforce, and Microsoft 365.

Flavors of Public Cloud

When it comes to public cloud computing, there are different flavors of resources that can support you.

GPU-heavy relies on more graphical processing power, like machine learning, video rendering, and gaming applications. In these situations, the workload can require a virtual machine (VM) with access to a high-performance graphics processing unit (GPU) to perform these tasks efficiently.

RAM-heavy applications need more memory – random access memory (RAM) – to manipulate data, which is common in data-intensive applications like big data analytics, in-memory databases, and scientific simulations. These instances are designed for data analysis and data science, with optimized CPU/RAM ratios and accelerated input/output operations per second (IOPS).

A CPU-heavy workload requires more processing power for computation tasks like high-performance computing, scientific simulations, and cryptography. These instances are perfect for applications that require high-frequency computing, or for processing parallel workloads.

You can check out more details about different types of public cloud storage here.

Hosting with us.OVHcloud

If you’re researching public cloud providers, us.OVHcloud offers scalable and flexible options for whatever resource requirements.

We work on a large scale with quality hardware to offer infrastructure at a competitive price. You can configure these resources to provide the maximum power to your public cloud instance.

We also offer tools to automate actions, like deployments, maintenance, and scaling up during peak loads.

Conclusion

There are many reasons to host on a public cloud and fewer reasons not to. With a public cloud, services are priced competitively, resources are scaled effectively, and maintenance is far easier. For more information on public cloud, contact a solutions architect at us.ovhcloud.com.