What is a Private Cloud?
Any cloud system devoted to a single enterprise is referred to as a private cloud. You are not sharing cloud computing resources with any other enterprise in the private cloud.
The data center resources might be on-site or off-site. Managed by your team, or managed by a third-party provider. The computer resources are not shared with other clients and are provided over a secure private network.
The private cloud may be customized to match the organization's specific business and security requirements. Organizations may run compliance-sensitive IT workloads without sacrificing the security and speed traditionally only accomplished with specialized on-premise data centers, thanks to increased visibility and control over the infrastructure.
The following are some of the most common advantages of private cloud architecture:
- Exclusivity and security: Other organizations cannot access dedicated and secure settings.
- Customized security: Organizations may use protocols, settings, and measures to personalize security depending on individual workload needs, allowing them to comply with tough standards.
- Scalability with no compromises: High scalability and efficiency to accommodate fluctuating needs while maintaining security and performance
- Effective and easy operation: For high SLA performance and efficiency, the private cloud is dependable.
- Overall flexibility: The private cloud is adaptable as the infrastructure is transformed to meet the organization's evolving business and IT demands.
The private cloud is suitable for highly regulated sectors and government agencies, sensitive data, and businesses that need tight control and security over their IT workloads and infrastructure. Large corporations that require sophisticated data center technology to function efficiently and cost-effectively, or organizations that can afford to invest in high performance and availability solutions, can benefit from private cloud architecture.
Private Cloud vs Public Cloud
We know the cloud computing approach in which IT services are distributed through the internet as the public cloud. The public cloud, being the most common cloud computing service model, provides a wide range of solutions and computing resources to meet the rising demands of businesses of all sizes and sectors.
Private cloud design is, on average, superior to public cloud architecture. There are certain drawbacks to using the public cloud. The most typical issue is a lack of expense management. For wide-scale use, notably for midrange to big organizations, the total cost of ownership (TCO) can climb dramatically.
A common public cloud concern is security. Public clouds are not inherently insecure. They require appropriate management for for sensitive mission-critical IT workloads. Your security architecture needs to address your security, risk, and compliance requirements. Most compliance requirements may not be met if infrastructure visibility and control are limited.
However, private cloud has several disadvantages. Pricing might be pretty high. Compared to public cloud alternatives, the private cloud is a costly option with a relatively high TCO, especially for short-term use cases. Another issue is mobile compatibility. Because of the rigorous security measures in place, mobile users may have limited access to the private cloud. The amount of attention paid to the design of the private cloud might also affect scalability. If we confine the cloud data center to on-premise computer resources, the infrastructure may not handle unforeseen needs.
As with all IT, or technological choices a weak architecture will minimize the potential benefits. Jump ahead to learn how to Architect a Private Cloud.
How to Architect a Private Cloud
Real enterprise architecture is all about finding the constraints (such as guidelines and guardrails) that designers must follow to deliver expected business value.
For example: Self-service is required for a cloud experience. Thus, building all the technology but not providing self-service is a failure. Everything is about understanding the enterprise's needs (also known as stakeholder concerns) and creating an architecture that supports it.
For an enterprise architect, the key guardrails are to ensure your private cloud has the following characteristics:
- Infrastructure is always provided through self-service.
- Infrastructure service is always predictable.
- Infrastructure is delivered as a product.
- Infrastructure products have a known cost.
- The customer is isolated from the change of infrastructure in a product.
For example: Netflix maintains its infrastructure all the time, and customers do not usually ever experience an outage. Netflix changes servers, storage, and networks regularly, and yet the streaming content continues to play uninterrupted. By contrast, many IT organizations need to schedule outages for major business applications and interrupt normal business to perform maintenance. With Netflix’s example, the customer is isolated from the change of infrastructure in their product.
Solution Architecture and Enterprise Architecture
Without an enterprise architecture providing measures of success, solution architects (or the people who are designing systems) are left guessing what really matters.
While the enterprise architect is responsible for the IT landscape's overall architecture, solution architects are responsible for discovering and implementing solutions to specific business challenges. They also oversee all efforts that lead to a new application's effective installation. Both of these roles are necessary for solid private cloud architecture.
Private Cloud Architecture Principles
Architecture Principles are the foundation of good architecture. They are simple statements that frame the tests of success.
In Enterprise Architecture terms, the following are the main Cloud Architecture Principles:
- Always Self-Service
- Always Predictable
- Delivered as Products
- Known Cost
- Isolation from Maintenance in a Product
- Isolate from Change of Parts in a Product
As an enterprise architect, it doesn’t really matter whether the technology is hyper-converged infrastructure. Just as well, it doesn’t really matter whether the environment is built with Virtual Servers or Kubernetes containers, or whether you build your own Kubernetes or use Red Hat OpenShift. These are technical design choices exclusively.
The private cloud architecture must follow the above principles and characteristics. These characteristics capture the best possible business value. Enterprise architects focus on business value and do not get excited about technology– rather, they are much more interested in tangible results than exciting prospective tech.
The business value will always drive the efficiency of the entire IT organization and further enable your business. Software applications either enable your staff to serve customers or directly serve customers. The easier you can develop the code, or deploy commercial applications, the more likely you are to align with better service capabilities in the long term. Better service leads to a market advantage– always. And deploying technology without ensuring all the necessary components that deliver business value will always end up being a failure.
Another critical attribute that is worth noting is resiliency. Traditionally, resiliency was simply disaster recovery in which infrastructure had failed. Modern IT Architecture, instead, is designed to absorb failure without hindering use in any sense.
In TOGAF, Private Cloud architecture best aligns with the Technology Domain. Learn about developing a Private Cloud architecture with TOGAF ADM Phase D.
When to Use Private Cloud
The short answer: Use private cloud anytime you want to realize the benefits we’ve mentioned above. When you want to gain even better value delivery than the hyper scalars ( such as AWS, Azure, and GCP) by optimizing the IT product or service for your company, private cloud is the way to go.
Private Cloud Risks
There are a number of risks involved in private cloud infrastructure worth considering.
Failure and Waste
Projects that fail always waste corporate resources. And the needs that drive cloud adoption (such as self-service and time to market) don’t go away– the company will still chase these outcomes through alternative means. Over 80% of private cloud initiatives fail and are abandoned.
Potential Performance Issues
Organizations employing a private cloud will have to purchase and install new software versions whenever new versions are available, which is both costly and time-consuming. Some may continue to use old software, putting them at risk of security flaws. This can cause downtime and have an impact on performance.
Final Thoughts on Private Cloud Architecture
Our firm prides itself on being a leader regarding enterprise architecture and good architecture practice. We have been in the field for a long time and have helped many enterprises achieve their digital transformation goals. Our online enterprise architecture training platform targets different clients and keeps abreast of the latest trends and innovations. By working with us, you'll reach your visions and goals with minimal hassle.
Please contact us. With us, implementing the best enterprise architecture is a stress-free process.
