What Is a Public Cloud?
2026-10-27
A public cloud is one of the most widely used models for consuming cloud services worldwide. It is based on a multitenant architecture in which a cloud provider’s infrastructure is shared by multiple independent customers, who access their resources over publicly available Internet connections.
Customers are isolated from one another through software-based virtualization, but they physically share the same underlying hardware resources. In a public cloud, users can independently create virtual machines, storage, networks, load balancers, and other resources through a management portal or API, without requiring direct assistance from the provider’s staff.
Public cloud resources can be scaled up or down as needed, while charges are generally based on actual usage time or the volume of resources consumed. Providers may also offer “bulk” rental arrangements for a predefined configuration. When using a public cloud service, it is essential to estimate future costs accurately and clarify the provider’s pricing and architectural details—for example, the cost of outbound traffic, whether the service can be integrated with the customer’s own IT systems, and what is included in technical support. Without this analysis, the total cost of the service can be unexpectedly high, especially when dealing with large international providers such as hyperscalers.