The Difference between Public and Private Clouds

Despite the vast amount of literature published about cloud computing, there is still a great deal of confusion about what it really is.  Countless debates and definitions float around like butterflies on the internet, and your impression of cloud computing could be both correct and wholly different from the expert sitting next to you. 

In an effort to end the confusion on at least one aspect of cloud computing, let's evaluate the differences between "public" and "private" cloud solutions.   All things considered, the cloud is a consumption model for technology that instigates technical, business, and economic benefits, but it is essential to first establish which problem you are trying to fix or which business process to advance, and whether cloud computing is the
solution

If cloud computing is indeed the method of choice, then you have options between managing it internally or outsourcing.  Keep in mind there are varying forms of the cloud, namely: public, private, and hybrid.

A private cloud is a web based interface with shared computing resources for a single company that is managed internally by that entity.  Access to this type of cloud is by invitation only.  A public cloud, on the other hand, is again a web based system for sharing computer resources, but this time it can be managed both internally and by a third part.  Access to public clouds is generally unrestricted.   Meanwhile, a hybrid cloud combines elements of both.  Hybrid clouds still contain the infrastructure of public clouds, but within them there are private communities that are inaccessible to the general public and controlled by the users of those communities.

A basic comparison is that private cloud computing is like a local network, whereas the public cloud is like them internet.  Both are entirely based on the web, but there are huge differences between the two.

Many think that overtime the boundaries between public and private clouds will become less distinct.  In the coming years we will manage cloud solutions through common governance, and ownership over the cloud will become obsolete.  Cloud service brokers will develop to oversee the dialogue and relationship between different clouds.  But all of this is many years away.