What is Private Cloud Computing?

Private cloud computing refers to a deployment model where the entire IT infrastructure is maintained privately by the same organization that owns it. A private cloud may either be based on the existing on-premises data center of an organization or can be created separately. However, the organization itself maintains the private cloud in both cases. Unlike public clouds that deliver IT services to multiple organizations, a private cloud caters to only one organization. For businesses that need to maintain direct control over the entire IT setup, private cloud computing offers the best solution.

Although similar to a virtual private cloud (VPC) model, a significant difference between the two is that while a private cloud is maintained by using an internal infrastructure, a VPC model leverages a third-party cloud vendor’s infrastructure.

How Do Private Clouds Differ from Virtual Private Clouds?

private cloud computing While they are often used interchangeably, the terms private cloud and virtual private cloud mean different things. Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) are isolated environments that exist within a public cloud to offer a private cloud-like experience to businesses. While the cloud infrastructure of multiple organizations exists within a public cloud solution, a virtual private cloud creates somewhat of a customized and secure experience that is similar to that offered by regular private cloud offerings.

While the IT department is the service provider in a private cloud solution, individual business units act as the service provider in a virtual private cloud solution. Hence, it can be said that a virtual private cloud acts as an isolation boundary, allowing tenants to create as many virtual private clouds as needed. Private clouds are, on the other hand, on-premises environments with self-service portals that can be used to deploy resources.

How It Works

While you can use your own resources in building your own private cloud computing, you can also use prepackaged cloud infrastructure, either on your own or through the help of a third-party cloud provider.

Private clouds utilize architectures such as containers and microservices, and practices such as DevOps, in their operations, much as public clouds do. They also rely on technologies such as:

Virtualization

A private cloud can only scale if it is unbounded from the limitations of physical hardware. With virtualization technology, computing, storage, memory, and networking resources in physical hardware are harnessed in the best way possible for sharing among the virtual machines (VMs) and containers comprising your infrastructure.

Management software

Efficient sharing of resources, maximum security, and scalability can only be achieved with the proper software. Administrators rely on management software to achieve optimal conditions for private clouds.

Automation

Self-service capabilities are essential to the smooth running of private clouds. These are achieved through automation tools that allow quick server provisioning and other tasks.

What Makes Private Cloud Computing Appealing?

Not all enterprises want to host their data in a public cloud as they do not want a third party to get access to their secure data. In such a case, a private cloud ensures that the IT infrastructure is privately hosted and that data is inaccessible to any outside organization. Hardware, data storage, and networks can be set up in a way that ensures enhanced security, so other clients in the same datacenter cannot access such resources. As all the resources are dedicated to a single organization, this model ensures compliance with various industry standards, such as HIPAA, Sarbanes Oxley, and more.

An adequately architected private cloud model is highly scalable. Computing resources can be added or removed on demand, and virtual machines can be configured. Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) can leverage this model to install the entire desktop infrastructure in the cloud. Unlike a public cloud, you can create hybrid private-cloud models where virtual servers, as well as dedicated on-premises servers, are integrated into the same setup.

Additionally, enterprises can use various tools to track resource utilization within their private cloud and take appropriate steps. They can ensure that they pay only for the utilized resources. A private cloud model ensures the high availability of resources and negates many security and regulatory concerns. It makes sense that this model appeals to many enterprises that want to get all the benefits of cloud computing while having greater control of the IT setup.

Is Private Cloud Computing More Secure than Public Cloud Computing?

Private cloud has the potential to be more secure than public cloud, but there is a crucial disclaimer: For organizations to benefit from private cloud, security must be robust and current.

The private cloud may provide several benefits for security, provided that a business does not become complacent about security. It may be simpler to secure physical security because private clouds are restricted to certain physical devices. The majority of private clouds are accessible via private, secure network lines rather than the public Internet, and they are often located behind a perimeter firewall. The level of control a company has over its private cloud may also make it simpler to comply with governance and regulatory requirements.

Private Cloud Computing Drawbacks

Despite all the benefits of a private cloud computing model, it is not without its fair share of drawbacks. The whole concept of cloud computing is based on the notion that organizations should not have to manage all the infrastructure on their own, thereby significantly lowering the cost. To maintain a private cloud model, organizations must manage the infrastructure on their own, which can incur high costs.

Additionally, a private cloud model introduces complexity. To maintain an IT setup in-house requires an IT team that can architect the data center setups. Organizations must be willing to build an IT team—whereas, in a public cloud setup, the entire IT setup is handled by the cloud provider.

Parallels RAS Supports Private, Public, and Hybrid Deployments

When remotely setting up desktops across an enterprise, one needs to consider several vital aspects, such as virtualization, servers, storage, networking, and monitoring. Many private cloud vendors, such as VMWare, Cisco, and Citrix, offer all the underlying technology stack. However, you often need to pay a hefty amount to get the licenses for all the components of a VDI solution.

Parallels^® Remote Application Server (RAS) is an all-in-one application delivery and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution that enables users to work remotely from anywhere, on any device, at any time. Parallels RAS enables organizations to centralize IT infrastructure management, integrate with Azure Virtual Desktop, streamline multi-cloud deployment, reinforce data security and improve IT process automation.

Download the Parallels RAS trial and manage or even deploy your private cloud computing plan today!

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