Public Cloud vs. Private Cloud vs. Hybrid Cloud

Private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud models all use a mix of the following technologies:

Virtualization

Foundational to cloud computing, virtualization is an abstraction layer that enables the hardware resources of a single computer—processors, memory, storage and more—to be divided into multiple virtual computers known as virtual machines (VMs). Virtualization connects physical servers maintained by a cloud service provider (CSP) at numerous locations, then divides and abstracts resources to make them accessible to end-users wherever there is an internet connection. Besides virtualizing servers, cloud computing uses many other forms of virtualization, including network virtualization and storage virtualization.

Management software

All cloud computing models leverage various software tools, including a centralized management platform (CMP). A CMP creates a single pane of glass (SPOG) that provides visibility into multiple sources of information and data. This unified view gives administrators and development teams centralized control over their infrastructure and apps, making it possible to optimize cost, security, availability and resource utilization.

automation

automation tools are a significant feature of cloud-based infrastructure. These tools reduce the need for human intervention and make self-service resource delivery possible. Examples of software automation incorporated into most cloud environments include the following:

• automation and orchestration tools 
• governance and compliance tool
• Security tools
• Performance monitoring tools
• Cost management tools

Application programming interfaces (APIs)

APIs play a significant role in cloud computing by enabling communication and interaction between different software applications and services, including facilitating access to data storage and databases, accessing and managing security controls, and more.

Cloud – base application and service

Cloud – base application and service support myriad business use cases—from backup and disaster recovery to big data analytics to software development. Each service facilitates data flow over the internet between front-end clients and back-end cloud systems provided by a cloud service provider. These services can be deployed in public, private and hybrid cloud settings.

Here ’s a rundown is ’s of the most common cloud computing service available from the major csp — Amazon Web Services ( AWS ) , Google Cloud Platform , IBM Cloud or Microsoft Azure — and other cloud service provider like VMware :

• Software-as-service (SaaS) is on-demand access to ready-to-use, cloud-hosted application software (e.g., Google Workspace, Salesforce). According to a Gartner report (link resides outside ibm.com), almost two-thirds (65.9%) of enterprise IT spending will go toward Software-as-a-Service in 2025, up from 57.7% in 2022.
• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is a complete cloud platform—hardware, software and infrastructure—for developing, running and managing applications. By implementing a PaaS platform, an organization can avoid the cost, complexity and inflexibility of building and maintaining an on-premises platform.
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing model that delivers fundamental compute, network and storage resources. IaaS enables end users to scale and shrink resources as needed, reducing the need for the high, up-front capital expenditures tied to on-premises infrastructure.

Most other service offerings from public cloud providers are extensions (like security or cost control platforms) that work with the above three basic models. That said, other service platforms include:

• Business-Process-as-a-Service (BPaaS) is a business process outsourcing platform that combines IaaS, PaaS and SaaS services.
• Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) is a subset of SaaS in which application code runs only in response to specific events or requests.
• Serverless computing (or serverless) is a computing model that offloads all the backend infrastructure management tasks—provisioning, scaling, scheduling, and patching. Serverless computing allows software developers to devote more attention to the code and business logic specific to their applications.