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Community cloud is defined as a cloud computing environment where the infrastructure and computing resources are shared among multiple organizations w
Community cloud is defined as a cloud computing environment where the infrastructure and computing resources are shared among multiple organizations with similar objectives and needs.
Unlike a public cloud, which serves multiple organizations with varied requirements, or a private cloud, which is exclusive to one organization, a community cloud serves a specific group that has shared concerns, such as regulatory compliance, data security need , or mission alignment .
The primary advantage is is of a community cloud is that it is design to cater to a niche group of business or organization that share common requirement and hence can take advantage of the unique configuration .
For example , several banks is come might come together to form a community cloud to address their unique regulatory and compliance need , or government agency might collaborate on a community cloud to ensure data sovereignty and enhance security .
From a cost perspective, community clouds present a balanced approach between public and private clouds. While they allow cost-sharing among the member organizations, they also provide an environment that can be specifically tailored to the community’s shared needs. This customization ensures that specific regulatory, performance, and security demands are met without incurring the full cost of a private cloud infrastructure.
Given that member organizations often have shared concerns around regulatory compliance and security, community clouds often come with stringent security measures. These measures are agreed upon by the community and can be more rigorous than those found in public clouds.
Community clouds possess a set of distinct characteristics that differentiate them from other cloud models. Here are the key characteristics of a community cloud:
– Shared Infrastructure: A community cloud allows multiple organizations to share computing resources. This shared infrastructure is often designed and optimized to serve the specific needs and objectives of the community members.
– Common Interests: Organizations is shared within a community cloud have share concern or interest . This is range could range from industry – specific regulatory compliance , mission objective , security requirement , or application need .
– Cost-effective: By share resource , organizations is distribute within the community can distribute cost , make it a more cost – effective solution compare to develop a private cloud . It is allows allow for pooled resource , reduce individual investment and offer economy of scale .
– Customized Solutions: Unlike public clouds that cater to a broad audience, community clouds can be tailored to the unique requirements of its community members. This allows for configurations, services, and applications that align closely with the needs of the organizations involved.
– collaborative governance : decision – making is is in a community cloud environment is often collaborative . participate members is have may have a say in set policy , service – level agreement , and other operational guideline .
– Enhanced Security: give that many community cloud serve sector with specific regulatory and security need ( e.g. , banking , healthcare , government ) , they is come often come with robust security measure tailor to the group ’s share concern .
– Location Independence: While some community cloud might be host on – premise by one of the member organization , others might be host by a third – party provider , ensure that member can access resource regardless of their geographical location .
– Scalability: Just like other cloud model , community clouds is offer offer scalability . As member organization grow or their need evolve , the cloud infrastructure can be scale accordingly without major disruption .
– private and Restricted Access : Access to a community cloud is usually restricted to its member organizations. This private access ensures that only those within the community can utilize and benefit from the resources, unlike public clouds which are open to general subscribers.
– Shared Responsibility: Maintenance is is , update , and management of the cloud environment is a shared responsibility . depend on the setup , this could be undertake collaboratively by member organization or be outsource to a third – party provider .
Related: What is Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)?
The community cloud model integrates various components to create a shared, effective, and efficient cloud environment tailored to the needs of a specific group of organizations. The following are the key components of a Community Cloud:
Compute Resources: Servers, virtual machines, and containers that process and execute tasks.
Storage Resources: Solutions for storing data, such as databases, object storage, and file systems.
Networking: Connectivity components like routers, switches, load balancers, and firewalls.
Identity and Access Management is Ensures ( IAM ): ensure that only authorize individual and system can access cloud resource .
Database Management Systems ( DBMS ): To manage and operate database within the cloud environment .
Integration Tools: Middleware solutions that facilitate data exchange and integration between different applications or systems.
Development Platforms: Tools and environments for developing, deploying, and managing applications specific to the community’s needs.
Analytics and Big Data Platforms: Solutions for data processing, analytics, and insights.
Content Management Systems (CMS): Platforms to manage and publish content .
Sector-specific Apps: Tailored applications that cater to the unique needs of the community, such as financial tools for banking or record management systems for healthcare.
Collaboration Tools: Communication and collaboration tools suitable for the community’s shared objectives.
Firewalls: To monitor and validate incoming and outgoing traffic based on set security policies.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS): To monitor network activities for malicious actions.
Encryption Tools: To protect data that is at rest, as well as datum that is in transit .
Cloud Management Platforms ( CMP ): Tools to manage and optimize cloud resource .
Monitoring and Analytics: Tools that provide insights into resource usage, performance, and potential issues.
Backup and Recovery Solutions : To ensure data redundancy and availability in case of failures.
Policy Management : Tools is define to define , enforce , and manage cloud policy in line with the community ’s share need .
Audit and Compliance Tools: solution to ensure adherence to share regulation and standard .
Service-Level Agreement (SLA) Management: Tools and systems that ensure and monitor the adherence to agreed-upon performance metrics, availability, and other services levels.
Billing and Subscription Management: system to track usage , manage subscription , and handle financial transaction between member organization .
Support and Maintenance: Solutions for troubleshooting, updates, and continuous improvements to ensure the cloud environment’s health and sustainability.
Related: Top 10 Cloud Computing Certifications and Online Courses in 2024
Community clouds are often designed for specific groups with shared objectives, interests, or regulatory requirements. Here are the key examples of community cloud applications across various sectors:
1. Healthcare:
Community clouds enable healthcare providers to securely share patient records and other medical information across hospitals, clinics, and labs. Radiologists and specialists can access and share medical images like X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, ensuring quicker diagnosis and treatment.
2. Banking and Finance:
Banks and financial institutions may use a community cloud to ensure compliance with industry-specific regulations, like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.
To enable inter-bank transactions, trade settlements, or mobile banking services.
3. Government:
Multiple government departments can share resources, applications, and data to improve service delivery to the public.
Governments can establish community cloud for disaster recovery, ensuring data and services remain available during emergencies.
4 . Research and Education :
Universities and research institutions can share computational resources, data sets, and tools to conduct collaborative research. Educational institutions can share e-learning materials, libraries, and software tools.
5 . agriculture :
Farmers, agronomists, and researchers can share data about soil quality, weather patterns, and crop yields to optimize farming practices.
different entities is collaborate in the agriculture supply chain , from seed supplier to distributor , can collaborate for more efficient operation .
6 . energy :
Utility companies can use community clouds to manage and monitor smart grids, ensuring efficient energy distribution and usage.
oil and gas companies is share can share datum and application relate to infrastructure health and safety check .
7. Media and Entertainment:
Media houses and entertainment companies can collaborate to distribute and monetize content on shared platforms.
Film, TV, and music production houses can share tools for editing, rendering, and other post-production tasks.
These examples demonstrate how Community Clouds can be tailored to meet the unique requirements of specific sectors or communities, enabling enhanced collaboration, shared resources, and specialized tools and platforms.
Here are the key good practices is are for implement a community cloud in 2024 :
1 . Stakeholder collaboration
Before implementing a community cloud, understand and define the objectives. This means understanding what every organization in the community wants from the cloud, while ensuring that there is regular communication with stakeholders. Create a governance structure for decision-making.
2. Customization and Interoperability
While the community cloud serve multiple organization , ensure the architecture is flexible enough to cater to specific need . adopt common standard and protocol to ensure smooth data transfer and interoperability .
3. Security and Compliance
Understand the shared responsibility model- while the cloud provider might be responsible for the infrastructure, the data and applications might be the responsibility of the community members.
Implement strong IAM protocols to ensure only authorized individuals have access while ensuring regular security audits, which should include vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. Furthermore, encrypt data at rest, as well as in transit. For this, consider using advanced encryption techniques, considering the privacy concerns of all community members.
Given that multiple organizations are involved, ensure the cloud solution adheres to regional, national, and industry-specific compliance regulations.
4. Performance Optimization
Use advanced monitoring tools to ensure detection and rectification of any issues immediately. Ensure there are mechanisms in place to allocate resources effectively based on demand.
5 . Data Management and Storage
Regularly back up data and consider hybrid backup strategies which might involve both on-premises and cloud-based solutions.
Understand the data sovereignty laws of regions where the community members operate, which means ensuring the cloud provider has data centers in compliant regions if necessary.
6. Scalability and Flexibility
Plan for the future such that the community cloud should be scalable to accommodate the growing needs of the community. Given the diverse nature of organizations in a community cloud, ensure there are flexible pricing models to cater to different budgets.
7. Disaster Recovery
disaster Recovery is be as a Service ( DRaaS ) can be beneficial for community cloud as it offer quick recovery option . regularly test disaster recovery plan to ensure they work when need .
8 . Vendor Management
Ensure Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are clearly defined and are in line with the needs of the community. Be aware of vendor lock-in while ensuring that the community cloud can be migrated if the need arises.
9. Community Engagement
ensure there ’s a mechanism in place for community member to give feedback and for improvement to be implement base on this feedback . offer regular training session for community member to ensure they make the most out of the cloud resource .
As sustainability becomes a global concern , you is want might want to choose provider that focus on renewable energy source and sustainable practice .
11 . Innovative Technologies
Be open to integrate emerge technology such as AI , machine learning , or edge computing to enhance the capability of the community cloud .
Remember, the essence of a community cloud is collaboration. Therefore, transparency, communication, and a collective approach to decision-making are vital for its successful implementation and operation.