Private cloud definition

Question

Hello,

Recently i was looking at the definitions that Microsoft uses for the different types of cloud environments, like private, public and hybrid.

The definition of the private cloud raises some questions. On one of the Microsoft sites the following definition is used:

A private cloud refers to cloud computing resources used exclusively by a single business or organization. A private cloud can be physically located on the company’s on-site datacenter. Some companies also pay third-party service providers to host their private cloud. A private cloud is one in which the services and infrastructure are maintained on a private network

Now if i take this definition, would it be correct to say that my companies on-premise infrastructure is considered as a private cloud? I mean its: exclusive for my company, located on my company's on-site datacenter and partly on a third party vendor's data center. In all cases the IT department of my company is managing the infrastructure.

Or does the word "cloud" mean that its always hosted at a cloud provider (for example Azure)?

In our cases we also have a ExR to Azure and are using a vnet with virtual servers, that are only available through the ExR (not the internet) from the onpremise network. Would that vnet (with servers) then be considered as the private cloud? Or is this an example of a hybrid cloud, since we are combining our on-premise network with resources in Azure?

I hope someone can clarify things.

Greetings,

Kick

Answer 1

Hello @C.J. Vieleers

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A platform.

The answer to this question really depends on how you define "cloud". A private cloud is a cloud that is dedicated to one organization and is managed by that organization. This could be a cloud that is hosted on premises or in a third-party data center. It could also be a cloud that combines on-premises infrastructure with cloud-based resources, such as Azure. This type of setup would be considered a hybrid cloud. It is up to the organization to decide how they want to define the term "cloud".

The word "cloud" does not necessarily mean that it is always hosted at a cloud provider like Azure. It refers to the delivery of computing services, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence, over the Internet ("the cloud") to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale^.

Regarding your second question, your vnet with virtual servers that are only available through the ExR (not the internet) from the on-premises network would be considered as a private cloud, as it is exclusive for your company and located on your company's on-premises datacenter. This is not an example of a hybrid cloud, as a hybrid cloud refers to a cloud computing environment that uses a mix of on-premises, private cloud, and third-party, public cloud services with orchestration between the two platforms.

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