Storm Cloud Enterprise - The Private Cloud for SaaS developers and agencies

The cloud is defined as a number of servers with pooled resources. These pooled resources include storage, computing power (memory and CPU), and networking capabilities.

In a public cloud environment, these resources are shared between public cloud tenants – each with their own cloud instance(s) that can be configured and launched.

A private cloud, as the name suggests, is hardware and dedicated network capabilities only accessible by the private cloud owner. Private cloud setups guarantee more privacy, and more control. Infrastructure flexibility is also a key feature of private cloud environments since it allows for custom hardware configurations.

Compliance: The privacy of the private cloud is beneficial to organisations with highly regulated and sensitive data. It promotes compliance since the organisation has exclusive control and access to the physical and virtual infrastructure.

Cost savings: With 5 or more virtual servers in your private cloud, it becomes the more affordable option compared to the same number of public cloud servers. A private cloud is also more affordable than on-premise hosting. Plus, you have exclusive access to the cloud environment, but don’t have to spend money provisioning or maintaining hardware infrastructure.

In a managed private cloud environment Storm assumes management of the entire cloud. This typically frees up IT teams who would otherwise have to perform these tasks, which not only contributes to additional savings, but can help you work toward your goals more efficiently.

Security: The privacy inherent to a private cloud means that it is less visible to the public internet than a public cloud environment. This anonymity confers a measure of protection.

In a fully-managed private cloud environment Storm is responsible for the security of the cloud infrastructure. Businesses without the necessary internal security skill sets can now enjoy the benefits of the private cloud. Similarly, businesses that do have those skill sets available can instead refocus them on mission-critical tasks.

Flexibility: A private cloud provides flexible configuration options. It can be deployed in a data centre, on-premise, or in a hybrid configuration. This flexibility can provide organisations with the freedom to create a cloud infrastructure that matches their needs.

A private cloud can be used for many different applications, each tailored to the needs of the organisation. Some of these include:

Applications: The privacy and security inherent to the private cloud makes it a great choice to host enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, business intelligence software, and other mission-critical applications.

DevOps: Create server templates for near-instant future deployments of development, testing, and production servers.

Software as a Service (SaaS): Create web servers, file servers, mail servers, or database servers for users in your organisation or the public internet. Easily scale resources to cater for peak traffic times.

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): A private cloud can be used to provide infrastructure services such as virtual machines, storage, and networking to branches, teams, and users.

Big data and analytics: A private cloud can be used to store and process large amounts of data for big data and analytics applications, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI): A private cloud can be used to host and deliver virtualized desktop environments to users, providing them with a consistent and secure way to access their applications and data from any device.

You can use both a private cloud and public cloud to create a hybrid cloud setup. A hybrid cloud can add flexibility to hosting infrastructure. For example, transient and non-critical workloads or information can be shifted  to the public cloud. Use cases ideal for a hybrid cloud setup include:

DevOps: Developers can use the public cloud for development and testing purposes, and keep production sites and apps in the private cloud.

Load balancing: The public cloud can be used to balance spikes in workload demand during peak hours. Less resource-intensive applications can be run in the private cloud.

Disaster recovery: Public cloud servers can be used as secondary storage locations for non-sensitive data and applications.

Data archiving: Similarly, the public cloud can be used for the long-term storing of non-critical infrequently accessed information.

Integrating existing IT infrastructure with a private cloud requires planning and testing, not only to ensure that the integrations perform as expected, but that they do not compromise the integrity, performance and security of your existing IT infrastructure. With that said, some common integrations / migrations from on-premise to private cloud include:

Virtualisation: Servers and network devices can be virtualized to recreate or migrate on-premise IT infrastructure to the cloud. This is especially beneficial when remote teams need access to local resources.

Gateways, APIs, and connectors: Where cloud gateways act as a bridge between your on-premise infrastructure and private cloud, APIs and connectors can be used to integrate private cloud infrastructure with existing systems such as databases and backup systems.

Cloud management platforms: Cloud management platforms can be used to automate and orchestrate the movement of workloads and data between your existing infrastructure and the private cloud.