What is Community Cloud? Benefits & Examples with Use Cases

Cloud computing has become a buzzword in recent times. Businesses are increasingly shifting to cloud platforms owing to the various benefits it offers. When it comes to cloud computing models, you will find public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, community cloud. 

Among all the models, the community cloud is the prominent one. The market size of community cloud is likely to reach USD 99.51 billion by the year 2033. 

Want to know more about cloud computing for community? Continue reading to explore all the important details.  

What is Community Cloud? 

Community cloud in cloud computing refers to a cloud-based infrastructure that allows organizations to share resources and services derived from common operational and regulatory requirements.  It combines the benefits and features of different cloud types to deliver a single solution tailored to a specific industry. 

The community cloud model is usually owned, operated, and managed by third-party vendors or members of the community. It is ideal for organizations that require identical resources and work on similar research topics and projects. As it is a private cloud, it can only be accessed by a selected group of people. 

Organizations in the financial, health, educational, and legal sectors can greatly benefit from the community cloud. It is because these industries need to adhere to various regulations. 

Want to gain more insights into the community cloud? If yes, enrolling in the Solution Architect course online can be an ideal option. 

Types of Community Cloud 

There are different types of cloud computing models that businesses can leverage. It includes public private community and hybrid cloud. Let’s discuss each of the cloud models in detail. 

• Private Clouds

Private clouds refer to the distributed systems working on private infrastructure. In this model, there is no sharing. It provides exclusive access to a single organization. However, you can collaborate with cloud service providers for the effective management of private clouds, including app deployment, updates, security, and more. 

A private cloud is ideal for businesses having strict requirements relating to data privacy and handling. It provides the essential computing resources for resource-intensive applications and ensures a smooth application. 

One of the prominent benefits of leveraging the private clouds is that they offer enhanced levels of privacy and security. This model can easily protect sensitive data and information as the infrastructure is dedicated to one client only. Complying with the standard operations and procedures is easy in the case of a private cloud. 

No doubt, the private cloud offers a lot of benefits to businesses. However, there are certain limitations too. The area of operation of the private cloud is restricted. In other words, it is accessible within a specific area only. Moreover, to operate and manage the cloud services, you may require the help of experts. 

• Public Clouds

The public cloud refers to the model in which a third-party provider offers cloud services and computing resources to users. The services can be accessed via the pay-as-you-go billing models. This model is ideal for small businesses as the IT infrastructure cost is significantly low. 

While the private cloud is dedicated to a single user, the public cloud can be accessed by multiple users. However, custom services can be delivered as per the specific requirements of the users.

The prominent benefits of using the public cloud model are cost reduction, high scalability, and flexibility. Moreover, it also ensures faster disaster recovery. The potential drawbacks of public clouds include less control over data and limited visibility. 

• Hybrid Clouds

Hybrid clouds are distributed systems that combine the facilities and features of private and public clouds. It is a flexible model that enables the users to get the benefits of both deployment models. More and more businesses are leveraging the hybrid cloud model owing to the benefits they offer.

The legacy systems and sensitive data can remain in the private cloud server. On the other hand, the workloads requiring more bandwidths can run on the public cloud. One of the benefits of using the hybrid cloud is that it allows a smooth transition from the private to the public cloud and vice versa. 

The model is scalable and allows you to easily gain access to more public resources to meet your needs. Moreover, it can lower your deployment time and ensure enhanced security of data. 

• Multiclouds

Multicloud refers to the cloud computing model in which businesses leverage multiple services offered by different providers. It provides organizations with the opportunity to use the best services as per their specific needs. It allows them to take advantage of different capabilities and features of the services. 

One of the main benefits of using the multicloud model is that it offers flexibility to organizations. Moreover, it also ensures better security, improved performance, and reduced costs. Some of the potential drawbacks of this model are that it may have compatibility issues and can be complex. 

Benefits of Community Clouds 

Now that you are aware of the private public hybrid community cloud, it is time to explore the prominent benefits of community cloud. Let’s dive in! 

• Cost Savings

Every business is in search of ways to lower their costs. One of the best ways to save more on costs is to leverage the community model in cloud computing. As a number of users have access to the same environment, there is no need for separate servers. 

The community cloud model embeds applications, data, and everything in one cloud environment. As a result, the overhead cost of your IT department is significantly reduced. Moreover, you do not have to hire additional professionals to manage the systems. 

• Enhanced Security

When it comes to cloud computing, the security of data is one of the major concerns among businesses. Community cloud guarantees the highest security as applications are hosted on the private cloud. This model allows organizations to restrict who can gain access to sensitive data and information.

Moreover, the community cloud can restrict users from accessing certain datasets. As a result, it prevents them from downloading or altering the data. It also limits the sharing of sensitive data by businesses. 

• Customization

Flexibility is one of the main reasons for the growing demand for community cloud among businesses. It can be easily modified and adapted to suit the specific requirements of the users. 

• Increased Collaboration

Community cloud allows increased collaboration among organizations. It allows the sharing of infrastructure, cloud resources, and other capabilities between businesses. 

• Improved Performance

The private cloud offers better control and transparency to the users. On the other hand, the public cloud ensures easy setup, maintenance, and scalability. Leveraging the community cloud model allows organizations to get the best of both cloud models. As a result, it enhances the overall performance and benefits the businesses. 

• Scalability

Scalability is yet another benefit of the community cloud infrastructure. It is scalable in terms of services, physical resources, and personnel. It can easily scale up as per the increase in demand. 

Community Cloud Challenges 

Despite the many advantages of a community cloud, there are a few limitations. Some of the prominent challenges are listed below.

• Security Issues

As the community cloud is shared among several businesses, you may come across certain privacy and security issues. Dealing with these issues can be often difficult.

• Not ideal for All Organizations

The community cloud model may not be the ideal choice for all organizations. It is especially not suitable for organizations to have strict policies relating to the security and privacy of data. 

• Expensive than Public Clouds

No doubt, community cloud is less expensive than private clouds. However, it can cost you more than the private clouds. Also, based on where it is deployed, you may need more in-house professionals. As a result, the expenses of your business might increase. 

Community Cloud Examples and Use Cases 

There are several examples of public private hybrid and community cloud. In recent times, the demand for community cloud is on the rise. Various industries leverage the infrastructure for different purposes. Some of the most prominent examples and use cases of community cloud are mentioned below. 

• Government and Public Sector

In government organizations, there are frequent transactions between different departments. They depend on similar applications, resources, and infrastructure for their operations. However, the strict legal and privacy restrictions make the public cloud unfit for government agencies. That is where the community cloud comes to help.

Government departments make use of the community cloud to manage their sensitive infrastructure and communication needs. It helps in ensuring the optimum security of their data and information. 

• Finance Sector

The finance sector is increasingly adopting cloud-based systems owing to their ability to efficiently deliver services in remote locations and ensure better customer service. However, this industry has the most stringent compliance and security requirements. That is why the community cloud proves to be an ideal option for the finance sector. It allows organizations to safely deal with the monetary transactions and sensitive data of customers. 

• Education Sector

A clear community cloud example in cloud computing is the educational sector. Not all educational institutes can afford the private cloud. Therefore, the community cloud serves as an ideal alternative. It is leveraged by different educational institutes to ensure seamless connections between instructors, students, administrators, and parents. 

The infrastructure allows the institutes to efficiently share educational content and other important information over the cloud. Moreover, during group projects, this model can facilitate seamless question and answer sessions to ensure better collaboration.

• Healthcare Sector

The healthcare sector deals with a large amount of sensitive information about patients on a daily basis. The laboratories and hospitals need to share patient records with the healthcare professionals. However, they need to do this in a secure manner and ensure compliance with the regulations of the industry.

Community cloud proves to be a suitable option for the healthcare sector. It allows sharing of knowledge and information on a global level. It prevents the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

• Scientific Research

Another example of community cloud computing is the scientific research sector. Research organizations with common interests require a large, distributed infrastructure for effective and efficient sharing of data. However, the privacy and security of data are a top priority. That is why the community cloud comes to help. 

By now, you must have a complete idea about the various applications and growing demand for community cloud. Are you interested in making a career in cloud computing? If yes, completing the What is Cloud Computing course can lay a solid foundation and enable you to achieve success in the domain. 

Things to Consider Before Adopting a Community Cloud Approach 

Before adopting public private hybrid and community cloud, there are several factors that you need to consider. The most important things to consider are listed below.

• Business Goals

When migrating to a community cloud public cloud hybrid cloud private cloud, the first thing to consider is the business goals. You need to determine what exactly you want to achieve by leveraging the cloud infrastructure. It can be sharing data in a secure manner or increasing the privacy of sensitive data. 

You may even use the infrastructure to enhance customer satisfaction. Having clarity of your business goals will enable you to make the right decision. Moreover, before adopting the community cloud, make sure to conduct a risk-benefit analysis. It will enable you to get a clear picture of the benefits that the infrastructure can offer and how it aligns with strategic growth. 

• Costs

Cost is another crucial factor to consider when adopting cloud computing for the community. Apart from the initial investment, you also need to find out the maintenance costs. Make sure that the overall cost of deploying community cloud fits your budget effectively. 

• Security Issues

In cloud computing, the community cloud allows sharing of the infrastructure by multiple organizations. So, there is a chance that you might come across certain security issues. Therefore, before adopting the model, it is vital to gain insights into the ways to deal with such issues. It will not only help in protecting your sensitive data but also ensure compliance with the laws and regulations.

• Service Outage Information

Community cloud service outages can significantly affect your organization. It can impact your operations and cause dissatisfaction among your clients and customers. Therefore, it is essential to collect information relating to service outages before adopting the model. Make sure that the chance of service outages is less. 

Conclusion 

Cloud computing for community is becoming popular in recent times. Community clouds are a comprehensive solution for organizations having similar concerns like jurisdiction, compliance, and security. The infrastructure offers several benefits to organizations. Cost-effectiveness, scalability, and flexibility are the prominent benefits it provides. Apart from that, it also allows sharing of data among remote employees in a secure manner. 

However, it is vital to partner with the best community cloud providers to get reliable services. Make sure to understand your business goals and requirements and accordingly collaborate with the right provider. 

Want to make a successful career in the evolving field of cloud computing? In that case, enrolling in KnowledgeHut’s Clouding course can help you get your dream job.