As more and more companies shift their operations to the cloud, it becomes increasingly important for smaller businesses to modernize their IT approaches to keep up with their competitors. But although the cloud is undoubtedly beneficial, there are many complexities involved with migrating one’s data and systems there, chief among them being which type of cloud infrastructure is best for you.
Cloud computing comes in the form of public, private and hybrid clouds. Public cloud services include major vendors like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and IBM. Private clouds, by contrast, are tailor-made for use by a single organization and may be hosted on servers either internally or externally. Finally, hybrid clouds present a mix of the two.
But there’s yet another option, which is to build a virtual private cloud using publicly available resources.
A virtual private cloud refers to the way a public cloud service provider divides up their resources. In the same way that virtual private networks (VPN) provide a secure way to transfer data across the internet, a virtual private cloud ensures that your company’s data is kept isolated and safe. There are several reasons why this may be a good idea, especially for law firms and other businesses operating in regulated industries.
#1. Unlimited Scalability
It’s often said in the world of cloud computing that flexibility comes at the expense of reduced control and security. If you want to maintain a high level of control over your computing infrastructure, a private cloud presents the best solution. However, most private cloud providers have a relatively limited set of hardware resources, which could present problems if your business needs to expand rapidly.
The public cloud provides a practically unlimited degree of scalability. The major providers, such as Google and Amazon, maintain some of the largest data centers in the world, so it’s extremely unlikely they will run out of storage space or raw computing power. With the virtual private cloud, you’ll be able to take advantage of the high-end hardware resources provided by such large firms while still being able to enjoy the benefits of the private cloud.
#2. Greater Transparency
When taking things like cybersecurity and storage off-site, you need to be sure that your data is in safe hands. Public cloud vendors tend to be subject to a much greater degree of scrutiny than smaller Managed Service Providers offering their own private clouds. This translates into increased transparency, abundant community support, and in some cases better compliance.
The major public cloud vendors can afford to pay top talent and therefore tend to have the most experienced engineers and support teams in the industry, which in turn reduces the risks involved. A virtual private cloud infrastructure gives you a platform that employs the most cutting-edge off-site hardware while keeping your data isolated yet maintained by experts as if it were managed on your own in-house server.
#3. Increased Security
One might assume that the public cloud is inherently less secure than a private one, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Although in theory a private cloud service should keep your data completely isolated from the outside world, it’s important to remember that the human factor is always the weakest link in any cybersecurity strategy.
The major public cloud companies have the immense resources necessary to hire the best security teams and provide the most secure physical and digital security available, and a virtual private cloud arrangement also offers the best solution for data integrity.
Whereas a small private cloud provider probably maintains only one physical data center for storing your apps, virtualized machines, and data, the major public cloud vendors have facilities located all over the country. Therefore, you’ll be able to take advantage of high-availability zones and improved disaster recovery options that smaller cloud providers can’t offer.
Vertex fully understands the complexities of migrating to the cloud and the challenges that law firms face when it comes to meeting compliance and regulatory obligations. That’s why we offer tailor-made cloud computing solutions that offer exceptional convenience while also keeping your data safe. If you’re looking for a strategic business partner, drop us a line today.