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Cloud Migration

What are the Types of Cloud Environments?

There are three different types of cloud environments:

  • Public cloud environments are the most common type of cloud computing. Public cloud resources are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider. In a public cloud, all hardware, software, and infrastructure are owned and managed by the cloud provider. 
  • A private cloud is typically more for mid-to-large-size organizations that deploy cloud resources for a single business. A private cloud can be located at an on-site data center, or it can be hosted by a third-party service provider. In a private cloud, the services and infrastructure are always on a private network, and the hardware and software are dedicated solely to a single organization.
  • A hybrid cloud is a type of cloud computing that combines the on-premises infrastructure of a private cloud with a public cloud to get the advantages of both. Hybrid clouds allow data and applications to move between the two environments.

Why is Cloud Migration Necessary?

Over the last decade, larger companies have built up a litany of on-premises legacy software systems with aging infrastructure, disparate data silos, old servers, and out-of-date applications. These systems inhibit companies from becoming modern, agile, and data-driven because they are expensive to maintain, require a huge internal infrastructure to support, and are not synergistic with today’s workflows, like agile development or DevOps.

What are the Benefits of Cloud Migration?

With the cloud, companies get the ability to do real-time management of computing performance for optimized resource efficiency. If the process is managed properly and planned well, cloud migration can lead to numerous benefits for an organization, including:

  • Lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Lower resource, maintenance, and real estate costs with fewer physical servers. Companies only pay for the cloud resources that they use. 
  • Increased agility and flexibility. When demand spikes, organizations can change resources instantly. 
  • Improved resource management, with the ability to optimize workloads. 
  • Backup and recovery. Business continuity functionality allows organizations to recover from disasters. 
  • Enhanced data security. Many public clouds have built-in security features. 
  • Compliance: Some cloud platforms have compliance features built into the system. 

Cloud Migration with a CDP

A customer data platform (CDP) can provide centralized data management for all your structured and unstructured data, along with the kind of data privacy and security controls that allow brands to stay in compliance no matter where their data travels. Overall, a CDP gives your technology teams better control over how data is accessed and activated across the cloud, in any environment. 

Amy Onorato
Amy Onorato
Amy Onorato is the Managing Editor of CDP.com and Senior Content Marketing Manager at Treasure Data. Prior editorial and creative roles include journalism, content marketing and content strategy for CBSNewYork, Newsday, DMN, and Publicis Sapient.

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