The exponential rise in data consumption has made it impossible for businesses like you to keep important information, applications, and resources on your in-house servers. Hence the increase in searches for what is public cloud.
Migrating even a segment of your workforce to a digital infrastructure will burn a hole in your pocket. This might also result in severe losses if the acquired technology becomes obsolete. To escape such underlying challenges, you need to know how public cloud can help your business grow.
The public cloud is all about outsourcing your on-premises infrastructure to help avoid the high cost of procuring, administering, and maintaining it. It allows you to focus only on your core business operations.
Businesses have profited from it since it allows staff to work from anywhere during challenging periods like the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s dive into this guide on cloud computing for beginners, shall we?
Let’s take a brief look at what a public cloud is before we get into the benefits of using it and how it can help you take your business to the next level.
What is Public Cloud?
The public cloud is the most popular model of cloud computing services. In these services, a third-party cloud provider administers different on-demand computing resources for businesses and communication-based organizations of all sizes.
Public cloud works to eliminate the need for users to host resources and services in their own data center. This enables them to save on maintenance and purchase costs of their own data centers and other IT accessories while retaining total data privacy.
Key Public Cloud Statistics
- Worldwide spending on public cloud services is forecast to reach $805 billion in 2024, expected to double by 2028.
- An estimated 96% of companies are expected to use public cloud services by 2025, underscoring its ubiquity in business operations.
- In Q4 2024, Amazon Web Services (AWS) led with a 32% market share, followed by Microsoft Azure at 21%, and Google Cloud at 12%.
- Global enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure services reached $90.6 billion in Q4 2024, marking a 22% year-over-year increase.
- Generative AI technologies contributed to half of the cloud market’s expansion in 2024, driving significant growth in cloud services.
- The global cloud services market reached $330.4 billion in 2024, up from $270 billion in 2023, reflecting robust growth.
- The public cloud market is projected to reach $825 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3%.
- Businesses are allocating approximately 47% of their IT budgets to public cloud services, indicating a strategic shift towards cloud-based infrastructure.
- In Q2 2024, global spending on cloud infrastructure services grew 19% year-over-year, reaching $78.2 billion.
- By 2025, 51% of IT spending is expected to shift from traditional solutions to cloud-based services, highlighting the accelerating migration to the cloud.
Types of Cloud Computing: Private Cloud vs. Public Cloud vs. Hybrid Cloud
After an introduction to cloud computing, choosing the right cloud deployment model is essential for balancing performance, cost, and security.
Public Cloud
Public cloud offers on-demand access to computing resources over the internet, operated by third-party providers like AceCloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. It’s ideal for businesses seeking scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency without the need for infrastructure maintenance.
Private Cloud
Private or on-premises cloud is dedicated solely to one organization. It offers greater control and enhanced security, often hosted either on premises or through a dedicated service provider. This model suits businesses with strict compliance requirements, such as those in finance or healthcare.
Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid cloud combines both public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to move between the two. This offers the best of both worlds – enabling businesses to keep sensitive operations on a private cloud while leveraging the scalability of the public cloud for less critical workloads.
| Feature | Public Cloud | Private Cloud | Hybrid Cloud |
| Ownership | Third-party providers (e.g., AceCloud, AWS, Azure, GCP) | Single organization (on-premises or hosted) | Combination of both public and private |
| Cost | Pay-as-you-go; minimal upfront investment | Higher initial cost; ongoing maintenance | Moderate; mix of CAPEX and OPEX |
| Scalability | High; virtually unlimited | Limited by internal resources | Scalable via public cloud when needed |
| Security & Compliance | Standardized security; may not meet all regulations | High security; tailored to compliance needs | Sensitive data stays private; non-critical data on public |
| Maintenance | Handled by provider | Handled by internal IT or managed service provider | Shared responsibilities |
| Best For | Startups, SMEs, rapid scaling, general workloads | Regulated industries, sensitive data, full control | Enterprises needing flexibility + control over critical systems |
What are the features of Public Cloud?
Now that you know what is public cloud, let’s discuss some of the top features of the public cloud –
Work from anywhere
It uses the shared public cloud platform via an active internet connection. It also allows multiple users to share the same resources anywhere and anytime.
Reliability
It has robust architecture, offering an uptime of 99.99%. It also keeps your confidential data safe from sudden data loss.
No resource maintenance
As the public cloud provider takes care of the maintenance of your servers, you are free from that task. Hence, it also helps in reducing the cost of appointing a separate workforce for maintaining the server and hardware.
Pay-per-use model
Most cloud service providers charge on a pay-as-you-go basis. Our public cloud is also working on the pay-per-use model. Such a model allows you to save a significant amount of money on maintenance while lowering the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).
On-demand, self-service provisioning
Public cloud allows users with a self-service portal to scale up or down the resources at their convenience.
What are the Benefits of Public Cloud?
Here are the benefits of cloud (public cloud) for your business —
Lesser Cost
The public cloud costs less than a private or hybrid cloud as it entails sharing the same resources with a larger user base.
Time Saver
With cloud service providers, managing and maintaining data centers becomes less time-consuming. Users save a lot of time in creating connectivity, releasing new products, providing product updates, configuring, and assembling the servers without worrying about scaling their infrastructure.
Simple and Quick Set-up
The public cloud is simple to get started with, and its deployment and configuration are lightning quick.
Business Agility
It allows businesses to effortlessly adjust their computing resources to meet their specific needs while still managing everything remotely.
Scalability and Dependability
It offers 24*7 services while allowing organizations to meet the changing demands of data storage capacity, processing power, and networking, easier scalability, with little to zero downtime.
Security and Auto-Backups
It allows small and medium-scale businesses with advanced cloud services to apply stringent security measures and back up data to prevent any data loss in case of any mishaps or technical glitches.
How does the Public Cloud Work?
A cloud service provider offers a fully virtualized public cloud environment in logically isolated locations through multi-tenant architecture.
This unique architecture enables users to run workloads on shared infrastructure and use the same computing resources by isolating each tenant’s data in the public cloud.
Public cloud architecture can be categorized by the three hosted services offered: SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. Let us now look into them –
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a way of delivering applications as a service over the internet. Its structure allows the cloud service provider to distribute the software hosted on the public cloud, allowing users to share the same software without installing it on their machines.
It is a centrally managed service, taken care of by the public cloud provider, which eliminates the need for installation or configuration. The most common examples of SaaS are Netflix and Office 365.
Consider SaaS if you are working on short-term projects that have the demand for collaboration, if you are a startup – in a hurry to launch e-commerce but do not have the resources or time to manage the hardware issues, or if your applications require mobile and also web accessibility.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS is a cloud computing approach in which a public cloud service provider provides its users with hardware and software tools through the internet.
In this, the public cloud provider creates and supports a streamlined environment comprising computing and storage resources provided to users.
PaaS is used for software development, eliminating the need for developers to start from scratch and maintain the software to develop applications, offering more flexibility.
The most common examples of PaaS are Windows Azure and Cloud Foundry. Consider PaaS if a developer wants to develop a customized application or if you prefer a reduced cost for the development process.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model is functional when an organization wants to outsource all its data centers to a cloud service provider.
In this model, the service provider hosts storage servers, networking hardware, and other essentials in conjunction with maintaining the entire environment virtualization.
This allows organizations to pay only for those resources that they are using. The most common examples of IaaS are Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.
Note: Consider using PaaS when you need to run and manage your website or application, or if you are looking to create virtual data centers.
Here’s a comparison of the traditional on-premises model with IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS cloud service models-
What are some Public Cloud Use Cases?
Let’s look at some of the most common use cases of public cloud –
Hosting Applications and Services
Businesses can host a variety of applications, games, software, and websites on the public cloud. Users can then access them from anywhere rather than relying on physical distribution.
This is essential to consider for any company that offers software and services and wants its compute capacity to grow over time.
Of course this would happen with the need for the application, ensuring the best quality service for all end-users.
Cloud Storage
This is the public cloud’s primary use case for businesses of all sizes who want to outsource their server maintenance operations and reduce maintenance costs.
Cloud service providers offer flat rates as well as a pay-as-you-use model to allow users to store data in a cost-efficient manner.
Worldwide Accessibility
Most public cloud providers offer a relatively shorter time-to-market for businesses lacking resources or an existing IT environment.
They do that by making their services available worldwide immediately.
This concentration on the core business and the demand-oriented provision of the required IT services will thereby increase their chances of business success.
E-Commerce Applications
It empowers e-commerce businesses by boosting website response time and users’ shopping experience, especially during the peak shopping season. This helps with business growth.
Also, public cloud services play a huge role in preventing an immense loss of revenue in times of server failure. They offer disaster backup and recovery through emergency infrastructure activation in times of need.
Banking and Financial Sector
Businesses that demand the utmost security and scalability, like the finance sector, can benefit from the public cloud as it offers secure and reliable services.
What are the Security Considerations in the Public Cloud?
Multiple organizations and several users access a cloud network simultaneously, causing concern in the end user’s mind regarding the overall security.
Public cloud service providers provide exceptional security options and work relentlessly to prevent data breaches to maintain customer trust.
They even employ skilled and trained personnel to automate all security functions. They even create AI algorithms for abnormality or malicious behavior identification in the system processes – safeguarding user data with the help of strict policies.
Organizations seeking solutions to public cloud security should consider the following methods –
Risk Assessment
Review risk assessments to avoid potential threats from hackers and identify risk factors introduced by cloud environments and providers.
Encryption
Cloud data encryption can be used to prevent unauthorized access to data by making original information unreadable except for authorized users.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Implement a cloud DLP solution so that users can’t send critical information/data outside the corporate network.
Cloud-to-Cloud Backup Solutions
Implement a solution that can help you back up your data to eliminate the risk of cyber threats, natural disasters, and malicious human intent.
Why Choose a Public Cloud for your Business?
Here are some compelling reasons for you to decide to go with the public cloud –
Market Share
With the public cloud dominating the existing market, there are two other options available for organizations to choose from, 1) private cloud and 2) hybrid cloud.
While the private cloud network offers exclusive, cost-effective cloud services for each organization (with a lower chance of scalability), the hybrid cloud (an amalgamation of public and private clouds) offers both public and private cloud services with added complexity.
Pinterest, Evernote, and Coca-Cola are some of the top names in the world that are using the public cloud.
Performance and Availability
One prime advantage of public cloud services over other cloud services is that it allows users to access and pay only as per usage of their on-demand resources.
So, they’d rather invest those funds in their core business instead. This takes away the worry about managing the infrastructure, thereby boosting their productivity.
Simplified Disaster Recovery
Public cloud offers automated and scalable disaster recovery. It does that by instantly backing up users in case of any sudden, unexpected failure. This enables business continuity and offers uninterrupted service.
Safe and Secure
Security is paramount when considering any cloud service. Thus, it is natural for users to choose a cloud service provider that is more reliable.
A public cloud environment is built to guard any type of user data through firewalls, protected with SSL and other app security methods.
This keeps it away from any intrusion attacks powered by 24×7 security monitoring and third-party installed certifications.
Self-Service
Public cloud service providers provide adequate self-service support, including help materials, how-to videos, tutorials, best practices, and a plethora of tips and tricks.
Users can access them at any time and from any location, allowing them to seamlessly scale up or down as needed.
Future Trends in Public Cloud
AI and Machine Learning Integration
Public cloud platforms are rapidly embedding artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities across services.
This allows businesses to automate complex tasks, gain deeper insights from data, and enhance operational decision-making.
For example, using AI-driven analytics in a public cloud can streamline inventory management or predict customer churn with high accuracy.
These features transform raw data into actionable intelligence, driving smarter and faster business decisions.
Adoption of Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Strategies
Enterprises are increasingly blending public cloud services with private clouds and on-premises infrastructure.
This hybrid model offers flexibility, cost optimization, and resilience, while multi-cloud deployments help avoid vendor lock-in.
For example, a company might run its customer-facing applications on AWS, host sensitive financial data on a private cloud, and use Azure for machine learning workloads.
Edge Computing Expansion
Public cloud providers are extending services to the network edge—closer to where data is generated.
This minimizes latency and enables real-time processing, critical for use cases like autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and industrial IoT.
It boosts responsiveness and bandwidth efficiency for time-sensitive applications.
Focus on Security and Compliance
As data privacy regulations tighten worldwide, businesses are demanding enhanced security features and region-specific compliance tools from public cloud vendors.
Expect to see expanded offerings for encryption, zero-trust architectures, and compliance certifications.
Sustainability and Green Cloud Initiatives
Leading cloud providers commit to carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative operations.
The public cloud is becoming a more environmentally responsible choice as data centers are optimized for energy efficiency.
This aligns IT strategy with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals—an increasingly important business consideration.
How Does AceCloud Help with Public Cloud Services
AceCloud is a reliable name among the public cloud providers.
It offers customizable Public Cloud solutions based on open-source and commercial technologies such as OpenStack, CEPH, KVM, and more.
We give our customers the advantage of focusing on their core business while outsourcing all their hardware, configurations for different servers, storage disks (SSD, hard disk), processor maintenance (CPU), and technical requirements to us.
Our public cloud network services provide clients with increased security and performance at a lower cost.
The network traffic generated by each end-user goes through channelizing in each data center. Since we use Tier 3+/4 data centers that keep the data and applications completely safe, it ascertains near-zero latency while keeping malicious traffic at bay.
If you’re learning about what is public cloud and looking for a feasible and cost-effective public cloud solution, AceCloud is the way to go.
We adapt to a variety of user-friendly solutions and programs like a breeze. Not just that, you’ll also save a lot of money on licensing fees while maintaining total transparency and security.
You can also store data or create backups directly on cloud servers. Our cloud IT environment has a self-service client portal that enables you to customize system notifications so that you get notified when anything needs attention.
Besides all this, our support team provides round-the-clock assistance. Get in touch with us to get personalized public cloud solutions.
