Listening to all the great features and benefits of the public cloud, it's easy to get caught up in the allure of public clouds. Not only is there the attraction of powerful never-been-done before cloud apps, but also the sense that the public cloud will eliminate all your IT headaches, drama and costs.
According to recent studies (1) this is not always the case. But in all things cloud, it depends on the company and who you talk to. And it also depends on the public cloud you use. Many companies, that are IT savvy, have come to realize that they actually save quite a bit of money with a private cloud, even when considering the cost of IT upgrades and IT staff.
Apparently it's not uncommon after switching to a public cloud to wince once the monthly bills start arriving. Bills ranging in the $40,000 to $100,000 a month range cause many CIOs to think twice. And what they think about is how big of a colocation private cloud that can buy with that amount of money. And they think whether or not its worth it to have their business records in a public cloud.
Even with those considerations, CIOs must still pause and think. Will public cloud costs come down in the future? As well, just like there are hidden public costs are there also hidden application benefits of a public cloud? Finally, there is a question of whether or not a company wants to remove itself to far from the evolving world of cloud technology? CIOs might also see some value of having first class cloud professionals on-board, especially if there isn't much of a cost difference between private and public clouds
The cost debate between public and private clouds tends to end after a private cloud reaches a certain size. If a company has a huge data center, its difficult for a public cloud to beat the cost of a private cloud (2). Then again, that's not to say that even the biggest private clouds can make some use of a public cloud to save money and reduce risk.
The competing benefits of private clouds and public clouds will always tilt depending on the application and the company. Such competing benefits is what is driving the growth of hybrid cloud architectures. The hybrid model, which is part public and part private cloud. may offer the best cloud cost/performance ratios. However, again, that will depend on who you talk to, what they know and what the cloud is used for.
Cloud Learning Links
(1) Public vs. private cloud cost comparison finds enterprise winners, TechTarget, Aug 2017, Robert Gates
(2) The Complete Cloud Buy VS Build Calculator, TheCalculator,
(3) Google Cloud Pricing Calculator, Google
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