The technology that enables a continuous workflow for companies

I think every company manager wants their business to run without interruption. Am I right?

The technology that makes this possible is the cloud: the company’s servers and applications run in a data center, not in your office, and can be used from anywhere over the internet, even when the power goes out or the network goes down at the office.

Since hybrid work, part of the time in the office and part at home, became common in many companies, the need for cloud services has grown too (see also whether the hybrid workplace is the new normal).

Simply put, the cloud means one or more servers hosted in a data center or on a platform that isn’t located at your premises and that you access over the internet. We’ll explain in a moment what hosting a server “in the clouds” actually involves.

The most popular types of cloud are public cloud and private cloud, and more and more companies combine them in a hybrid cloud. In this article, we walk you through the main differences between them.

Public cloud services

Public cloud is a service paid monthly or yearly, based on the resources used (processors, memory, storage space) or the number of users, for cloud applications: email, CRM, ERP, backup or collaboration. Well-known examples are Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for applications, and Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud for servers.

The main advantages of this technology:

• it doesn’t require advanced maintenance from the company: the provider takes care of the infrastructure;
• it scales up or down very easily;
• startup costs are low, and you pay only for what you use.

The main drawbacks:

• you don’t have full control over the service, and you need to check where the data is stored (preferably in a European Union region);
• you have no access to the physical infrastructure and can’t control performance directly;
• security is a shared responsibility: the provider is responsible for the infrastructure, but configuration, accounts and data remain the company’s job;
• costs can rise unpredictably if resources aren’t monitored, including fees for data transferred out of the cloud.

The service provider is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure.

Private cloud services

This type of cloud service is bought or rented for use by your company alone, with precise technical specifications that aren’t shared with other customers. It can be a virtual server or a physical server, hosted in a data center or on a virtualization platform that provides cloud services.

The cost of this type of service depends on the hardware resources required.

The main advantages:

• it can be customized to fit your company’s needs very closely;
• it allows additional layers of security;
• it can be managed and controlled 100% by your company;
• you have complete freedom to choose the hardware resources used.

Drawbacks:

• it requires advanced maintenance, done by your own team or by an IT partner (in the managed private cloud model);
• it can mean higher costs.

In practice, companies choose private cloud services when they want control over the resources they use. Unlike public services, they allow advanced configurations, as well as the implementation of security solutions and complex backup policies.

What is hybrid cloud?

Hybrid cloud means combining the two: for example, email and documents live in Microsoft 365 (public cloud), while the accounting application or the ERP runs on a server dedicated to the company (private cloud), connected to the rest of the systems. That way, each application sits where it fits best in terms of price, performance and control.

How do you choose between public cloud and private cloud?

• Standard applications (email, documents, collaboration) usually belong in the public cloud.
• Company-specific applications, those with server-bound licenses or with high performance and control requirements, are a better fit for private cloud.
• Personal data: check where the data is stored and what the data processing agreement says, as GDPR requires.
• NIS2: if your company falls under NIS2 (GEO 155/2024, the Romanian law transposing it), supplier risks, including those of cloud providers, are part of the security assessment.
• Backup: either way, your data needs a separate backup, kept somewhere other than the main service.

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth keeping your server in the office, read the comparison local server or cloud server: pros and cons.

On top of all this, cloud services have the big advantage that they can be accessed from anywhere and don’t depend on the local infrastructure. I think every company manager would want employees to keep accessing company resources without interruption when there’s a network failure at the office, so they can get on with their daily work.

RezolvIT implements both public cloud and managed private cloud solutions, through our Data center: private or hybrid cloud service. Since 2005, we’ve worked with companies of every size, with small, medium or large infrastructures, and we propose the solution that best fits each client’s business. We start with a free IT audit, which also gives you the exact price.