CIO RECOMMENDATION: Vendors define private cloud in many ways, creating confusion about what they are actually able to deliver. Executives need to ensure private cloud solutions are aligned to business expectations and can deliver the results you need.
We are in the middle of a resurgence of interest in private cloud because the concept remains the best answer to solving today's growing IT cost, complexity, and compliance challenges. This interest is driving current CIO spend and activity, with Forrester’s “Private Cloud Market Insights, 2023” reporting that 79% of surveyed cloud decision makers are implementing internal private clouds* (Source: "Private Cloud Market Insights, 2023," Forrester").
There are a plethora of private cloud solutions on the market. Many are described by tech marketers using very similar terminology. Yet definitions of what “cloud” and “private” mean can vary enormously. The challenge lies not in any judgment of solutions being “good” or “bad,” “right” or “wrong,” but in expectations and the risk of misunderstandings.
Is Your Cloud a Cloud?
Cloud, as befitting its meteorological alter-ego, is a nebulous term for many.
For some it is a strategy, others a tactic. It is sometimes even used to describe a thing or place. Yet cloud computing is an operating model, as clearly defined by NIST. In short, it is the way we build, deploy, manage, consume, and protect our IT services. The most fundamental characteristics of cloud—the deal breakers if you will—are user self-service backed by automation.
Private cloud technology has come a long way in the last 10 years and this cloud operating model, once only available from public clouds, is available privately too. A modern private cloud platform can provide governed and secure self-service, using powerful automation layers, simplified operations, and workflow orchestration. What previously took weeks, now takes minutes.
The modern tools and capabilities for building applications, for so long synonymous with public clouds, are also more widely available as well. A private cloud platform is now far more comprehensive in terms of feature set, offering parity with those public cloud services.
Executives should expect their investments in private cloud technology to enable that cloud operating model and provide access to innovative services like AI and analytics. Many private solutions today are based around independent siloed architectures, bound together with an automation layer that is typically limited in capability while being complicated to maintain. This might be branded a “cloud,” but it does not provide for a cloud operating model.
Now that we have described current expectations for a “cloud,” we need to define how that cloud operating model will be delivered. This is where the accompanying adjective becomes important—public or private?
Private (adj.) Cloud (noun)
Public cloud has less demanding constraints than private cloud. It is generally understood to be a platform belonging to another organization where we can build and run services. There are restrictions on control and customizations—everything will need to be done the way the public cloud platform wants it done and this will be different from self-owned services. Applications will also need to comply with the public cloud platform requirements for how workloads will run and data will be stored.
Private cloud, in contrast, has a range of vendor definitions which makes it important for an executive to be very clear about their own requirements and expectations in order to assess solutions.
The definition of the word “private” in everyday use has two meaningful characteristics. Something private is ours—it belongs to a single person or entity. It also means there are the necessary controls to protect our confidential information. These same essential characteristics also apply to private cloud and can translate into tangible business advantages.
In sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government, stringent compliance requirements necessitate robust data protection and privacy measures. A private cloud ensures that sensitive data remains within the organization's own control, adhering to regulations, meeting custom control requirements, and minimizing the risk of breaches.
Data sovereignty may also be a critical driver of private cloud. As well as compliance with public policies, data is increasingly being seen as a strategic asset in the digital economy, particularly with the increasing use of AI, and sovereignty is seen as an essential component of data protection.
Moreover, existing systems and data architectures in many enterprises are often deeply intertwined with their operations. Here, the customization that a private cloud affords modernization without sacrificing stability and integrity.
A private cloud should help you unlock the value of your private data in a controlled manner.
I’ll Tell You What I Want ... What I Really, Really Want
By calling solutions “private cloud” when they do not deliver a cloud operating model nor align with the need for control, sovereignty, and customization, vendors have diluted the term and confused the market. The gaps and omissions in vendor definitions tend to be driven by elements they are simply unable to deliver.
The onus is on executives to identify what cloud challenges they are trying to solve—and what each vendor is actually capable of delivering when they offer a private cloud solution. The Broadcom definitions for private cloud and hybrid cloud can help you start.
Ultimately, executives are looking for private cloud solutions that do not compromise on cloud features while still ensuring enterprise controls. Private clouds are expected to deliver:
- Full Cloud Features: Similar to public clouds, private clouds should offer a cloud operating model, scalability, flexibility, and a wide range of services, including advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning capabilities.
- Enterprise Controls: Security, compliance, data sovereignty, resilience, and governance are non-negotiable. Private clouds must provide these controls without sacrificing the benefits of cloud computing.
We know that private cloud is a current imperative for most organizations, but that need will only increase. In the next article in this series, we will uncover exactly why that is and how you can get ahead of it.
Stay tuned.