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Australia, Feb 12, 2025
Australian organisations are increasingly adopting cloud strategies as part of their technology infrastructure. The Australian Bureau of Statistics surveyed Australian businesses in 2022 and found that 85% were using ICT1, with 59% of these using cloud technology. Gartner predicts that cloud computing will become a business necessity by 2028.
There are many ways to approach the design and setup of cloud computing environments. If you’re early on into a digital transformation, or new to cloud technologies, it can take a while before the different approaches start to make sense. And well, once it starts to make sense, you’ll join an elite community of technology specialists all struggling to explain to their families what it is they do.
Sorting through cloud strategies and definitions can be a similar experience to learning about the ins and outs of recycling at home. “Yes, but that goes in the green bin, not the yellow one.” “This might look like it goes in the yellow bin, but actually it goes in the red one.” It’s all quite confusing at first.
One of the challenges when it comes to the way we talk about cloud technologies, is that the terms we use aren’t always mutually exclusive. Rather than fitting into one agreed definition or bucket, we should probably think of them more like labels, where they can have more than one at the same time. Often these labels are attributed to the underlying architecture and how the cloud environments have been set up.
Let’s look at some of the key types of cloud environments and their advantages.
- Private Cloud
These dedicated cloud services are set up for a single organisation and are usually hosted on premises or with a third-party provider. All resources are under the control of a single organisation and is an ideal strategy for organisations that need to meet regulatory requirements. Private cloud is also sometimes known as internal or corporate cloud. The pros include greater customisation and control, lower ongoing costs, dedicated security resources and control over compliance requirements. - Public Cloud
Public cloud services are offered by cloud service providers (CSPs) such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services (AWS). All storage, data and other infrastructure are managed by the CSPs. Public clouds include services known as Software, Platform or Infrastructure as-a-Service (SaaS, PaaS and IaaS). The pros for adopting a public cloud strategy include low or no initial costs, scalability, advanced security and easier maintenance and upgrade paths. You simply pay for the service you use, without needing to buy additional hardware or software, or worry about maintenance. - Hybrid Cloud
As the name suggests, hybrid cloud let’s organisations enjoy the best of both worlds with a combination of private and public cloud environments. These are ideal to share data and applications between cloud environments using hybrid cloud management tools. They can be managed by customers, vendors, partners or CSPs depending on the setup. Instead of connecting the private and public environments themselves, hybrid cloud focuses on the connectivity between them. The pros for hybrid cloud include scalability, flexibility and reduced complexity. Sensitive data and important apps can also be kept on-premises for added security. - Multi-cloud
Multi-cloud environments are where there are two or more cloud computing and storage services from different providers in a single network. The workloads for these are spread across public clouds, private clouds or even both using this approach. The pros for multi-cloud include access to best-of-breed features, global operating advantages, increased redundancy and cost optimisation. Organisations can work with several vendors and choose them by their feature set, price point or strength in local markets. The downside to this approach is that there is no guarantee for interoperability between each cloud environment.
As you can see, cloud architecture can be labelled as just hybrid, just multi-cloud or both hybrid and multi-cloud. Some less common cloud terms that you may also hear, include:
- Intercloud – which takes the multi-cloud model further by connecting multiple public clouds together into one holistic and managed architecture. In this way, organisations can run a single app across multiple clouds.
- Federated cloud – which pushes Intercloud thinking even further, where CSPs willingly interconnect cloud infrastructure to share resources. It is a type of multi-cloud environment that looks to shift the focus from running specific workloads on particular clouds, to running workloads anywhere across the various clouds.
Whichever path you take, cloud technology is complex
When it comes to cloud computing, the technologies are complex and there are many factors, advantages and trade-offs to consider when choosing one strategy over another. There is absolutely no one-fits-all approach. It’s important to take the time to get it right, as cost savings and other benefits can quickly disappear over time in an ill-fitting cloud environment.
Staying on top of the changing technologies and strategies is challenging with rapid changes and disruptive elements. Just consider how the use of AI has changed within your organisation and the workload considerations as a result.
Navigating the complexities of cloud computing requires expertise and specialised support. Partnering with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can offer significant advantages. MSPs possess in-depth cloud knowledge, guiding organisations in strategy, migration, optimisation, security, and compliance.
This expertise translates to cost savings by optimising resource utilisation and delivering predictable spend. MSPs can also enhance efficiency by automating tasks and freeing internal IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives. By leveraging the speed and scalability of the cloud, organisations can accelerate innovation and gain a competitive edge. Through MSPs organisations can also access the latest technologies and enjoy 24/7 support.
Logicalis Australia, Microsoft's 2024 Australia and New Zealand Azure Partner of the Year, offers a wealth of expertise and a wide range of advanced specialisations to guide organisations on their cloud journey. Get in contact with our team to discuss your cloud technology needs.