Netgain

The difference between a public and a private cloud is that a private structure will be used to solely accommodate your company data whereas a public system has infrastructure that serves multiple users including your organization.  All the apparent advantages of cloud computing have been overshadowed by security concerns and lack of uptime assurances among enterprise users. Private cloud hosting aims to minimize, and in some cases eliminate, these concerns by exclusively dedicating hardware to each private user.  

The four main benefits of a private model over a public one are:

• Internal Security

The number one concern to migrating to a cloud environment, especially in healthcare, is security.

Private Cloud providers combat that objection in a number of ways.  First, servers are located in secure data centers that are only accessible through biometric screenings.  Also, private clouds have dedicated pools of resources so the data isn't susceptible to any other client's data.  With proper antivirus, firewall rules, and physical security in place, your organization’s data will be as safe as if it were on the hard-drive sitting on your desk.

• Improved Performance

Public cloud systems are susceptible to unpredictable and frequent outages.  Apart from enhanced security, private models offer much more predictable availability, since they are supported by more tolerant grid backbones.  A single fault can bring down a public cloud for hours, whereas a private cloud has the advantage of being located on an independent server that can be easily restored in case of an outage.  For more information on EHR performance in the Cloud, check out this Webinar by Netgain and 4MedApproved.

• Scalability

A private cloud system grows along with your business.  You can always increase the storage, CPU, and memory as your needs grow.  The customization of these options tends to be much better on a private system.  The best part is that your cloud service provider will handle all these upgrades as well as the maintenance.  This can save your company from unnecessary expenditures.  Also, the rate at which the service provider affects such changes is generally much faster than if it were being handled by the user organization.  Like in an electronics utility model, with private cloud computing, you only pay for what you consume.

• Flexibility and Independence

In a private cloud infrastructure, your organization has the flexibility to try out different component specifications such as memory and CPU until you get what suites your needs.  You can also shift the server workload depending on your usage needs.  With a private cloud, unlike a public cloud, the user does not have to notify and seek permission from the provider beforehand.

Some organizations are now using a hybrid cloud.  As the name ‘hybrid’ suggests, this is a cloud that consist of both a public and a private cloud.  As a means of accommodating spikes in traffic, the company will primarily run applications on the private cloud, but also depend on the public cloud to accommodate the increased usage needs.  This is particularly common in e-commerce where traffic shifts unpredictably, but the users still need the added security that a private cloud provides.

Netgain is a provide cloud solutions provider dedicated to meeting the needs of small and rural hospitals as well as mid- to large-sizes physician practices for IT services.
 

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