Every era has its driving force. For earlier generations, it was innovations like the wheel or masonry. Today, it's cloud computing, which has revolutionized data processing, storage, and security. Contrary to popular belief, cloud computing isn't just for large enterprises; it's accessible to small and growing businesses too.
In this blog article, we look to explore the world of private cloud for small business needs and see how growing businesses can expand their infrastructure seamlessly. We also explore some of the top private cloud providers available and offer guidance on how to choose the right private cloud solutions for your business. First, let’s get familiar with the concept of the private cloud.
What Are Private Cloud Solutions?
Cloud computing has grown tremendously in popularity over the past few years due to its scalable, cost-effective, convenient, and flexible structure. By definition, cloud computing is the delivery of storage, processing, security, software, networking, and more over the internet, as opposed to using local servers or personal computers. According to Canalys , the global spending on cloud infrastructure services grew 19% year-on-year to reach US$ 78.2 billion in Q2 2024 alone. Of the different cloud deployment models available, private cloud services have become a consistent choice for isolated, secure, and consistent cloud computing. Research and Markets has shown that the global market for Private Cloud Services is projected to reach US$ 191.66 billion in 2030.
Gartner defines private cloud computing as a form of cloud computing used by only one organization, or that ensures that an organization is completely isolated from others. In essence, a private cloud service is designed for a specific company and provides controlled security and customizable services. Consider it the same as renting out a computer system instead of breaking the bank to buy your own.
Through virtualization, private clouds are much more agile and scalable to meet specific needs. This process is also much more cost-efficient and flexible. Now, for small businesses, this might be the best option when it comes to cloud computing models, and to prove it, we’ll now look into some of the major benefits of the private cloud for small businesses.
Benefits of Private Cloud Services for Small Businesses
Private clouds are one of the 3 major cloud computing frameworks available. Unlike public and hybrid cloud services, the public cloud is completely isolated and customized to your business needs. While each framework has its own set of advantages, private cloud providers offer unique benefits that should elevate every small business. These are some of the main advantages:
- Enhanced Security: Naturally, one of the key benefits of a private cloud environment for a small business is its elevated security. With a private cloud service, you limit access to the company’s network and have better control over specific security measures. Private cloud providers implement robust cybersecurity tools and processes to maintain data security as well. This includes data backups, encryption, access control, and more.
- Cost-Efficiency: Another key advantage of the enterprise private cloud setup for small businesses is its general affordability. Private clouds are significantly cheaper to deploy and are investments that generally pay for themselves over time. Most private cloud systems use a pay-as-you-go, subscription-based pricing structure, which gives small businesses the chance to scale back computing if necessary. A private cloud also gives businesses access to tools and applications that might be too expensive to implement on-site.
- Improved Flexibility and Access: Private cloud environments ensure that your team always has access to company data and files wherever they are. This is ideal for small businesses that might have remote teams or flexible working schedules. This also elevates work efficiency by fostering seamless collaboration and making documents easily accessible.
- Enhanced Scalability: Another great benefit of a private cloud system is that it is entirely scalable and simple to use. This makes it great for small businesses that might not need as many computing resources throughout the year.
- Regulatory Compliance: A private cloud solution also offers certainty when it comes to regulatory compliance. Your private cloud will ensure that your data practices are aligned with HIPAA, CCPA, GDPR, or any local regulations that apply to your business. This will save you time and money by avoiding tedious penalties, and it reflects positively on your company’s reputation that you maintain a commitment to data safety.
These are all great reasons to invest in a private cloud solution for your small business, however, the market can seem overly saturated as well. With so many cloud-based deployments available, it’s easy to get swept away in what might be the best option for you. This is why we’re now going to explore some of the top private cloud providers ideal for small businesses.
Top Private Cloud Providers for Small Businesses
The more popular private cloud providers are often scaled to suit large enterprises and might not always have the services you need as a small business, or rather, might have too many services that you simply don’t need. This is why we’ve rounded up some of the top private providers that are adapted to small businesses.
Sangfor Technologies
Sangfor has always been leagues ahead of the competition when it comes to flexible and adaptable cloud computing and cybersecurity solutions. For Sangfor, the commitment to the client always comes first, and that’s why Sangfor’s private cloud frameworks are built to empower organizations to enable seamless integration, automation, and resource optimization.
Sangfor's Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) solution, an ideal private cloud option for smaller businesses, combines compute, storage, and networking resources into a single, integrated platform. This streamlines deployment and management processes, allowing smaller businesses to enjoy agile, efficient, and affordable computing. Its private cloud capabilities ensure small businesses have access to dedicated and secure cloud environments. Sangfor also provides comprehensive security solutions to safeguard sensitive data and critical workloads in private clouds using advanced encryption, authentication, and access control systems.
Sangfor actively helps clients in mitigating security risks and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. It also offers exceptional customization and performance optimization that allows your business to drive innovation, accelerate growth, and stay ahead of the competition.
Rackspace OpenStack Private Cloud Reviews
Rackspace OpenStack Private Cloud is an enterprise-ready platform with maximized flexibility and total cost control. The company specializes in providing multicloud solutions that tackle prevailing business challenges across various industries.
Lumen Private Cloud
Lumen is a multinational technology used to push business growth by connecting people, data, and applications. With a robust network, the company offers a wide variety of services ranging from metro connectivity to long-haul data transport, edge cloud, security, and managed service capabilities. Lumen is committed to continuous improvement and innovation in its service offerings to meet customer needs today and as they build for tomorrow.
Red Hat OpenStack Platform
Red Hat OpenStack Platform offers a private cloud that adapts to the growth of businesses and integrates smoothly with development tools. With a user-friendly interface, it’s simple to operate while still providing computing efficiency.
DigitalOcean Cloud
The DigitalOcean framework offers a simple and reasonably priced hosting solution for organizations. It has an easy-to-use interface and steady pricing structure that simplifies web hosting and data storage setup. The company provides critical infrastructure and fully managed offerings to help startups and grow digital businesses quickly build, deploy, and scale various digital tools and products.
OVHcloud
OVHcloud is another provider that offers pre-configured Hosted Private Cloud frameworks that are built on VMware technology. This provides a simple and easy-to-use private cloud setup with seamless deployment and management, particularly for smaller businesses.
Scaleway Elements
Scaleway Elements helps developers and businesses to build, deploy, and scale applications to any infrastructure. It provides a secure foundation with features like private networks, firewalls, and security groups for access control. It’s also user-friendly and has a well-documented API for deploying and managing your private cloud. It’s used by 25,000+ businesses, including European startups, who choose Scaleway for its multi-AZ redundancy, smooth developer experience, carbon-neutral data centers, and native tools for managing multi-cloud architectures.
VEXXHOST
VEXXHOST’s private cloud adds nodes to your infrastructure to ensure scaling that accommodates workload growth. VEXXHOST offers two private cloud deployment options: hosted and on-premises. They also offer OpenStack consulting services to facilitate integration with existing tools and workflows, which is suitable for smaller businesses with existing OpenStack environments.
Virtuozzo
Virtuozzo is another option for smaller businesses seeking cloud solutions.. The easy-to-use framework is affordable, pre-configured, and seamless to deploy. However, you may need to invest in additional security measures to maintain security.
Each of these private cloud providers offers a unique and scalable solution that won’t break the bank and is ideal for smaller businesses. However, you would know your company’s needs better than anyone else, which is why it’s important to know what to look for in a private cloud partner.
Choosing the Right Enterprise Private Cloud Provider
When it comes to getting the right private cloud solutions for your business, you need to pay attention to the right factors and features before blindly leaping to a decision. We’ve drawn up some points to consider before choosing the right private cloud provider for your organization.
- Budget and Pricing: Smaller businesses do not have the luxury of simply opting for the latest names in technology and are often limited by budget constraints. However, this does not mean you’ll get cheap quality in return. The majority of expensive private cloud providers offer way more than what you need as a growing business. Try to stay within your budget and do the research to find a private cloud provider that fits the bill.
- Know Your Business Needs: This is generally the most important element of any big decision you make for your company. It’s easy to get swept away by smoke and mirrors from cloud providers that offer things you don’t necessarily need for your business. Get a good understanding of the workload, scalability, security, and compliance needs of your business long before investing in a cloud solution.
- Understand the Services Provided: While you may not be a computer buff, it’s important to choose a cloud provider that will take the time to explain and provide support across every stage of the deployment. Try to avoid companies that get caught up in jargon and complex explanations that leave you with more questions than answers. Your ideal private cloud provider will offer a Proof of Concept, consistent support, and reliable tutorials for a seamless transition.
- Ensure a Focus on Security: Many private cloud providers will have security measures implemented within their frameworks already, however, it’s important to verify and understand the parameters of those security protocols before investing. Look for a cloud provider that provides the security measures required for the type of data your company will be processing. This also ensures compliance with local and national regulations and policies.
- Ease of Migration and Use: As a small business, you need to invest in a cloud provider that provides consistent customer service and support if you encounter an issue. Your private cloud should also be easy to use, deploy, and maintain with your team alone; however, assistance should not be too far to reach as well.
Moving Your Business to a Private Cloud
For many small businesses, the shift to a private cloud infrastructure might be frightening at first. However, the transition does not need to be difficult. A private cloud solution will optimize processing, elevate security, and ultimately elevate the way your business operates. The private cloud revolution will help your business grow to new heights while pushing your team to seamlessly join the transformative digital age.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Private cloud infrastructure offers an isolated and secure environment with advanced access controls and parameters. This makes the private cloud setup highly secure and protected.
Companies can speak to their cloud providers about integrating security features that they might need. This can include network segmentation, encryption, access controls, and regular security audits. Businesses also need to engage in proactive cybersecurity practices and instill a culture of cyber hygiene within the workplace.
Private cloud services available include on-premises private cloud, virtual private cloud, hosted private cloud, and managed private cloud platforms.
This will ultimately depend on the specific cloud provider you choose. Most private cloud providers offer subscription-based and pay-as-you-go pricing tiers, which is a much more affordable option.
Private clouds can be hosted on-site at your own premises or off-premises in a dedicated facility managed by a cloud provider.
Private cloud environments provide:
• Enhanced security
• Elevated access control
• Customization options
• Performance optimization
• Scalability
• Cost-efficiency
• Regulatory compliance
The main differences between private and public cloud solutions lie in ownership, access, and resource sharing. While private clouds are dedicated to one organization, a public cloud can serve multiple customers and share its infrastructure resources. Private clouds offer enhanced security and customization options, while public clouds stand out more for scalability, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility.
Small businesses need to focus on the needs of their business, budget constraints, scalability, services provided, security, and ease of migration and use.
