Private Clouds
BENEFITS AND USE OF A PRIVATE CLOUD FOR SMALL BUSINESS
January 2025 | Nextworks
A private cloud is a type of cloud computing environment that is exclusively used by a single organization. Unlike public clouds, which provide services to multiple organizations, private clouds are dedicated to one entity, offering greater control, security, and customization.
Uses of a Private Cloud
A private cloud is a simple solition that can aid your business in a number of ways:
- Enhanced Security and Compliance: Private clouds are ideal for organizations that handle sensitive data and need to comply with strict regulatory requirements.
- Customizable Infrastructure: Organizations can tailor the infrastructure to meet specific needs, optimizing performance and efficiency.
- Improved Control: With a private cloud, organizations have complete control over their data, applications, and resources.
- Scalability: Private clouds can be scaled to meet the growing demands of the organization without compromising security or performance.
- Cost Efficiency: While the initial setup can be expensive, private clouds can be cost-effective in the long run by reducing the need for physical hardware and maintenance.
- Remote Access: Employees working from home have easier access to company resources.
A Private Cloud Case Study
ABC Roofing is a small business using QuickBooks Pro 2024. The software is accessed by three people: an internal administrator, an external contract bookkeeper, and occasionally their CPA. ABC Roofing has opted to run the desktop version of QuickBooks because Intuit’s online version of QuickBooks does not deliver some needed capability.
QuickBooks runs on a desktop computer in ABC's office. This poses a few concerns for ABC:
- The administrator at ABC does conduct periodic manual backups of the QuickBooks data to a thumb drive. However, this thumb drive is kept in a drawer at the office. This makes decades of financial data vulnerable. If ABC experiences a fire or theft, that data could be forever gone. Alternatively, the desktop computer could crash and the $10 thumb drive containing the backup could fail.
- Another concern is accessibility of the software for the bookkeeper and CPA. Because these two do not work in the office, they can’t simply connect to the QuickBooks data from their own computers. In order for these external parties to connect to QuickBooks, ABC has installed a product called TeamViewer on the desktop containing QuickBooks. This provides a somewhat reasonable solution. However, everyone must coordinate a time to use QuickBooks as only one person can access the computer it at a time. As ABC's business is growing, this once effective solution is becoming burdensome.
The solution is to set up a small server in a private cloud that contains the QuickBooks software and its data. This server is fully backed up (to another cloud service) daily. These backups are then closely monitored by ABC's IT company. Because QuickBooks is now private cloud hosted, all three parties using QuickBooks can connect to the cloud server and use the software simultaneously. A secure encrypted VPN is used so that cyber criminals cannot gain access to this sensitive data.
This model not only works for QuickBooks, but for just about any software designed to run on a local server.
Private Cloud Cost
The cost of a private cloud can vary widely depending on several factors, including the size of the organization, the complexity of the infrastructure, and the specific services required. Here are some key considerations:
Factors Influencing Cost:
- Datacenter: The cost of hardware, storage, and networking in the datacenter
- Software: Operating system licensing fees such as Windows Server
- Maintenance: Ongoing costs for IT staff, support, and maintenance
- Backups: Costs associated with data backups or live server replication
- Customization: Expenses related to tailoring the cloud environment to specific organizational needs
All and all, for a small business you can expect to see a private cloud setup costing around $200-$600/mo. This includes security features and backups. Maintenance for the private cloud server(s) is usually included as part of an overall IT management plan.
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