Forecast: Partly Cloudy

Even if your company has already decided to adopt cloud computing, you still face a choice between public and private clouds. Big public clouds, such as Google's, offer the promise of cost savings, flexibility, and agility, but don't necessarily guarantee an adequate level of privacy, security, and compliance. Private clouds, which are wholly owned onsite networks, can deliver greater security and many (though not all) of the advantages of a larger public cloud. How do you decide?

Frankly, we think you should be experiencing a bit of déjà vu. Haven't we seen this before? In the early days of the Internet and the Web, some people advocated running directly online for commerce, communication, and collaboration, while others were proponents of private networks that realized many of the advantages of open computing without relinquishing control of the IT infrastructure.

You know what eventually happened: companies ended up with mixed environments. Common applications like e-mail and instant messaging moved to the Internet, either as updated versions of existing applications or entirely new options, while proprietary applications remained behind firewalls that safeguarded their competitive advantage. And companies focused on developing the right resources and strategies to integrate the two -- linking the public and private infrastructure to allow a free flow of information without risking data security.

Xantrion recommends taking the same approach to cloud computing. In the short term, at least, it makes sense to implement a combination of public and private clouds based on your specific needs. As we mentioned in our last blog post, not all applications perform well in the cloud, and public clouds aren't always entirely reliable or secure. By creating a hybrid, your company maximizes the benefits and minimizes the drawbacks of each.

Some of our clients have already implemented hybrid clouds. One, for example, has adopted cloud-based applications for document and workflow management, banking and payroll, staff performance management, faxing, and data backups. However, it continues to use local applications for timekeeping and billing, tax preparation, and audit preparation.

In the end, we believe that decisions about cloud computing -- public, private, or not at all -- need to be made on a task-by-task basis. The deciding factors are speed, security, and reliability. It's up to you to decide how best to balance them.