What Is a Private Cloud?
2026-10-28
Cloud-based consumption of IT resources has become a global standard. However, the public cloud model — in which the same underlying resources are shared by many independent users — is not suitable for every large or even midsize company. Organizations with heightened performance and security requirements may instead choose a private cloud. This model combines the convenience of a public cloud with the control and reliability of on-premises infrastructure.
A private cloud can be physically located either in a provider’s data center or on the customer’s premises. What matters is that the service provider assumes responsibility for deploying, maintaining, managing, and securing the private cloud’s underlying infrastructure, while the customer uses its resources as needed to build enterprise IT environments and applications.
Because of its architectural characteristics, a private cloud is generally less flexible than a public cloud. Its implementation therefore requires more careful capacity planning, including an estimate of future growth.