Cloud Hosting Options: Which One Will Meet Your Needs

Electronics engineers are responsible for taking everything from the creative, business, and testing teams and using that information to create a seamless product. This requires extensive interaction with those teams to make sure the process runs smoothly. 

Seems like a lot of pressure, right? It is.

Designing new products can be complex in any job. From planning and sketches to prototyping and production, product design requires a solid amount of cooperation, communication, and collaboration among teams within an organization. Imagine the work that will go into creating the next Nintendo console, Alexa device, or Samsung tablet. There’s a design/creative team. There’s a business team. There’s a testing team. And then there’s the engineering team who enables the production of the products themselves. 

Offer ways of communication

How do you maintain the open line of communication and collaboration among teams to meet product demands? 

Using some of the most innovative software and technology in the business, cloud computing infrastructure can — in contrast to on-premises software — help to bring all of those teams together under one “unit”. With more flexibility to connect and work wherever and whenever, engineers can streamline operations without losing the crucial contact points with their teams.

With cloud computing, you can increase productivity and collaboration in no time if you know which cloud services and infrastructure will work best with the processes and products you are putting out. We’re going to help you navigate that complex decision by reviewing the pros and cons of the available cloud hosting solutions on the market today to see which cloud services best meet your business needs. We'll compare Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, and Community Cloud — so let’s dive in!

Public Cloud Hosting

Public cloud providers use a network of public physical servers to provide a global data hosting environment. A third-party service provider sells space on its servers to multiple customers. That provider manages the servers and allows its customers to access their data on those servers.

Pros

• This cloud model requires less knowledge to set up and manage. Administration, fixed costs, and data centers are eliminated to give the most convenience while providing a cost-effective data storage solution.
• You have global access via multiple sites, giving location flexibility.
• Security is higher with specialized precautions and administration in place. 
• Servers usually have backups in place to ensure that your data won’t be lost.
• All of the big cloud providers include pretty good encryption out of the box.

Cons

• There is less user control over security settings. The cloud has its own administrators, so you’re less likely to have control over things like updates. 
• You can create a security hole with just the press of a button without even realizing it.
• You are locked into their contracts. 
• You could be on the same servers as others and “sharing” data without knowing it. 

Private Cloud Hosting

Private cloud hosting is similar to public cloud hosting but with a server used exclusively by one business or organization. This private cloud system can be physically located in your company’s on-premises data center, or it can be hosted off-site in a 3rd-party provider’s datacenter. Your company is responsible for maintaining both the hardware and software of your private system.

Pros

• You have more control over the security settings and your data. 
• You can customize in-house based on what your organization needs. 
• There are no third parties — you control updates, software, system requirements, and more. 

Cons

• You have to hire the administration/security experts (the same that already exist for public cloud hosting) on your own. 
• It can be more costly.
• You need people in place - managers, overhead, headcount - that all impact your internal fixed costs.
• There is no external support team. If you mess up, it’s on you.

Hybrid Cloud Hosting 

There are many definitions, but at CELUS, we define hybrid cloud hosting as a combination cloud type — utilizing multiple aspects from public and private clouds. We think hybrid cloud solutions are probably the best option in most situations — and in fact, hybrid is the option we use for our own cloud computing needs.

Pros

• With the hybrid cloud you can get all the benefits of both cloud services — the public cloud is convenient where the private cloud gives you customization.
• Hybrid cloud is more cost-efficient — you can manage your financial costs between time management and investments to find the best cloud storage configuration for your needs.
• If you have a niche application that would be costly on a public cloud, hybrid gives you the option to run it on a private cloud.
• You can switch to a new cloud service provider — you’re not locked into a relationship with one provider. If your provider makes your deal with them worse, you can always make the switch to another one or move that data to your own private cloud.
• You have more control over the scalability of your cloud solution and can more closely manage your business-critical applications.

Cons 

• You have to be experienced with both private and public clouds to get the advantages of the hybrid cloud. 
• You have to maintain a balance between people working on projects and people working on infrastructure management when you have a hybrid cloud. 

Community Cloud Hosting

Community cloud hosting is a multi-tenant solution where many companies come together to purchase their own servers. You can think of community cloud hosting as being similar to a public cloud environment with the security, privacy, and regulatory compliance of a private cloud. 

Instead of giving each company its own private cloud server, the hosting company will allow many customers to connect and logically segment their sessions. This is a common setup for organizations like governments, hospitals, or other multi-location or multi-company organizations.

The hardware is still being shared with multiple companies just like in a public cloud setup, however, the only people accessing those servers are people that are part of that same group — so you have tighter security and less risk than you’d have with a public cloud.

Pros 

• You have more control over the security systems. Only you and your trusted partners access the hardware.
• You can efficiently handle compliance and regulatory measures via the added security features of the public cloud. 
• You can test and work on a cloud platform that is secure, “dedicated,” and even compliant with certain regulations.

 Cons

• More management is involved, from expense tracking to operating and legal agreements between accessing parties. 
• You have control in the sense that it is a public cloud but not as much as a private cloud. 
• There is no support team. You support yourself. 
• Remote access may be limited due to compliance restrictions. 

Making the Right Decision for Your Company 

With the incredible growth in automated systems, remote work, and large-scale digital efforts by nearly every industry from healthcare to electrical engineering, it’s important to consider what best fits the needs of your company. 

What data do you have? Will your team be able to easily access the server? Is the environment secure? 

Choosing the right cloud infrastructure hosting option for your company may be difficult, but moving your data to a cloud is the most proactive action you can take to protect and streamline company processes.

Are you still having trouble with outdated systems, sharing options, and security for your engineering firm’s data?

Tedious and time-consuming is a thing of the past when it comes to electrical engineering. Connect with your team and build products in a fraction of the time with the right cloud hosting solution for your business. 

Contact Us to learn more about CELUS and how we can help you find the right solution to help your engineering firm work better and faster.