Private Cloud Computing: What It’s Not and Why It Matters

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Doug Bonderud.

The private cloud is many things, say its champions: a way to move data off a local server stack but still retain the benefits of being "alone"; a way to reduce costs and a way to improve agility. But amid all that this subset of cloud technology does well, there are some things that aren’t its strengths–and some it can’t do at all. Enough misconceptions have arisen, in fact, that research firm Gartner issued a news release detailing five things these clouds are not.

I Do Not Think it Does What You Think it Does

Chief among the myths surrounding taking a cloud private is that it is the same as virtualization, according an equities.com report on the Gartner statement. The research company notes that "server and infrastructure virtualization are important foundations for private cloud computing. However, virtualization and virtualization management are not, by themselves, private cloud computing." They also point out that, contrary to popular opinion, this kind of cloud computing is not necessarily on-premises, won’t always be private, and isn’t an entirely cost-saving measure. Nonlocal data centers still meet privacy requirements, hybrid clouds are on the rise, and cost benefits are not nearly so significant as the agility and task automation abilities a company gains…

And this is the challenge for midsize IT admins: being clear about exactly what kind of cloud computing they want for their business and communicating its benefits to executives. CEOs and CFOs hear great things about the cloud from providers and during management conferences, and the information provided is often deliberately vague. Though now a maturing technology, there is still no absolute definition for cloud computing, allowing all manner of misconceptions to take place…

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