Cloud Computing | Research & Analysis

What the Private Cloud Is Not

• By Margo Pierce
• 10/03/12

Cloud computing hype is beginning to perpetuate some misconceptions that need debunking, according to information technology research and advisory company Gartner. Its new report, "Five Things That Private Cloud Is Not," clarified a number of issues for prospective adoptees.

"In the rush to respond to these pressures, IT organizations need to be careful to avoid the hype, and, instead, should focus on a private cloud computing effort that makes the most business sense" said Tom Bittman, vice president and analyst for Gartner. Among them is the caution that companies selling space in their server racks are the only viable solution. The top five includes:

Private Cloud Is Not Virtualization
Virtualization and virtualization management are not, by themselves, private cloud computing, according to the report. And while private cloud computing leverages some form of virtualization to create a cloud computing service, it is "a form of cloud computing that is used by only one organization, or that ensures that an organization is completely isolated from others."

Private Cloud Is Not Just About Cost Reduction
According to the report, "The benefits of self-service, automation behind the self-service interface and metering tied to usage are primarily agility, speed to market, ability to scale to dynamic demand or to go after short windows of opportunity, and ability for a business unit to experiment."

Private Cloud Is Not Only Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Server virtualization is a major trend and, therefore, a major enabler for private cloud computing. The private cloud is not limited to IaaS, which, unlike Platform as a Service, "doesn't fundamentally change how IT is done," according to the report. PaaS can provide higher-level offerings for developers, including new applications specifically designed to be cloud-aware.

Private Cloud Is Not Always Going To Be Private
"New public cloud services targeting specific requirements will emerge. Some private clouds will be moved completely to the public cloud. However, the majority of private cloud services will evolve to enable hybrid cloud computing, expanding the effective capacity of a private cloud to leverage public cloud services and third-party resources."

Private Cloud Is Not Necessarily On-Premises
While admitting that most private clouds will have a physical and accessible on-premise location, a growing percentage may be offsite and will have "a more flexible definition of 'privacy.'"