What is Private Cloud Storage?

Storing data securely and reliably has become an increasingly important part of our lives. With the rise of cloud storage solutions, users can now store their data securely and access it from virtually anywhere. Private cloud storage is one such solution, offering users a reliable way to store and manage their data. In this article, we’ll provide an introduction to private cloud storage, explaining what it is, its benefits, and how it can help you keep your data safe.

What is Private Cloud Storage?

Private cloud storage, also called internal cloud storage, is a service delivery model for storage within a large enterprise. Internal cloud storage runs on a dedicated infrastructure in the data center, offering the same scalability benefits of public cloud storage to corporate departments and partners while addressing security and performance concerns. It usually supports a single tenant in an enterprise’s local data center. For larger organizations, there may be multi-tenancy features to isolate cloud storage access by office locations or departments.

Scalability requirements for private cloud storage are more modest than their public cloud storage counterparts. That’s because the “customer” base for private cloud storage is usually limited to groups inside the organization, while public clouds have potentially millions of customers using their services. This also means private cloud storage will more likely leverage and be built upon traditional data storage and IT infrastructure.

Some benefits

• Ongoing operating costs – for large storage volumes, on-premise storage will almost always be more cost-efficient than public cloud storage.
• Customization – in the public cloud, organizations can only consume specific storage services, with inflexible limitations and configuration options. In the private cloud, organizations have complete freedom to select their storage technology and configure it to their specific requirements.
• High performance – in the public cloud, storage equipment is shared by large numbers of users. Storage services may not guarantee performance or may charge extra for performance or throughput. Typically, dedicated hardware deployed on-premise will perform much better than their cloud-based equivalents.
• Low latency – for on-premises applications, local storage will provide much lower latency than storage deployed in a remote cloud data center.
• Security – arguably, the private cloud provides better security because it is strongly isolated from other organizations. At the same time, public clouds provide extensive security features that may not be available in a private cloud.

Disadvantages

Private cloud storage can be challenging because it requires a company to entirely manage its hardware and software resources unless they outsource components to an external provider. This is an expensive task. The enterprise shoulders all of the costs of servers, computers, and software as well as the cost associated with hiring employees who can engineer these solutions.

Additionally, with high customizability comes high maintenance. Unlike a public cloud solution, in which every maintenance responsibility falls under the provider, a private cloud solution has to be developed, configured, troubleshot, and maintained by the business that manages it.

High customizability also requires not just upkeep and troubleshooting, but also improving the solution to meet the increasing data requirements within the storage industry. Such requirements can include faster data access, data protection and compliance, and security software to shield the data from theft. All of those components have to be designed or developed by the private cloud owner or at least installed within it.

When should we use a Private Cloud Storage solution?

Private cloud storage solutions are ideal for mission-critical data that requires a higher level of security. It is also an ideal solution when your data’s input and output (I/O) performance is crucial.

These are some real-world use cases where private cloud storage would thrive:

• Industries with strict compliance regulations: Industries like finance and healthcare have laws governing the strict management of personally identifiable information (PII). Organizations like HIPAA also require data to be managed with additional layers of security. The increased security of private cloud data storage addresses these regulatory concerns. Additionally, government offices and contractors may be required to use private cloud storage to put their clients’ and customers’ minds at ease.
• High-performance uses: Specific industries and organizations may require more speed from their data and IT services. For example, a private cloud may be best if your business requires you to work with large file formats like video and large databases. Also, speed may be a method to overtake your competitors in specific industries. An example might be an investment fund participating in high-speed stock or options trading. A private cloud is a valuable tool in helping you gain that edge over your competition.
• Custom hardware: Customizations are limited in a public cloud environment. Private cloud storage affords users much more control over resources and the configuration of their systems. A private cloud is for you if your business requires specific hardware or settings.

How to deploy your Private Cloud Storage?

If you are a business considering using private cloud storage, there are a few things you need to do first. First, you need to decide what type of private cloud storage is right for your business. There are several different options available, so you need to find one that meets your needs. You also need to make sure that your infrastructure is ready for a private cloud. This means that you need to have the right hardware and software in place, as well as the necessary skills to manage and operate a private cloud. Finally, you need to create a plan for deploying your private cloud storage. This plan should include all of the steps necessary to get your private cloud up and running.