In today’s market, the majority of businesses have become cloud-based. Cloud services have two options – public and private. A service vendor on the public cloud will provide applications storage and other resources to multiple companies using its own servers. The private cloud is an infrastructure that is solely for one business to house and distribute their data and apps. Private clouds can be kept on the business’s own servers, or through a third party.
Deciding which type of cloud you need will always depend upon the types and volume of sensitive data your company handles and regulatory data protection requirements that are relevant to them. Those businesses that specialize in financial or medical data have to comply with strict rules around the control and security of their information. As an insurance company, you will see a lot of financial and medical data in your files so a private cloud could be right for you.
Security and compliance
Private clouds are significantly more secure than the public cloud; there’s only your business on the infrastructure which automatically makes it safer.
As an insurance company, you may have to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as well as the payment card industry standards for security compliance. Private cloud managers specialize in helping companies meet these standards, so a private cloud could greatly benefit your insurance business.
Cloud vendors always have a very high standard of security as their reputation depends on it. Third party vendors often work out much cheaper than trying to run your own cloud and as an SMB this might be the best choice for you.
Cost and energy efficiency
Whilst from the outside it may appear that running a private cloud is less cost effective than using the public cloud with stricter security, money is saved in other ways. The implementation of the private cloud improves the allocation of resources by making sure that whatever an individual department or business needs is readily available and flexible in response to their needs.
Private clouds make more efficient use of the computing resources than the more traditional LANs. They minimize investment into unused capacity which saves money and is better for the environment as an added bonus.
Uses existing investments
One of the biggest problems for companies switching to cloud services is the total revamp of their already existing systems. Some business IT might be so old that a lot of training is needed to bring employees up to date. A major benefit of the private cloud is that because it’s your infrastructure, and designed to meet your specific insurance needs, it is possible to simply migrate all your pre-existing systems straight on to it.
Cloud bursting
While more control over a private cloud can remove some scalability options, private cloud providers offer a service known as cloud bursting. Your non-sensitive business data is transferred to a public cloud to free up space during spikes in demand, or until the time when the private cloud can be expanded. This makes it extremely flexible; if your budget won’t stretch to paying for extra storage at the moment, cloud bursting can step into place until your finances can handle your growing demands.
If you’re looking to switch to the cloud but are still unsure of all your options, contact Stratosphere Networks at (877)599-3999 or fill out our contact form. Our experienced IT professionals are knowledgeable in the area of cloud services and will help you determine the best types of cloud options for your business.