Paul Campbell, Head of Cloud, Daemon, on CIOs empowering the C-Suite over the choice between public and private cloud.
In the wake of VMware’s price increase earlier this year, the public vs private cloud debate has only intensified, as companies across the globe evaluate their cloud strategies. While the IT team contribute valuable insights, the decision ultimately lies with the C-Suite – with the CIO playing a pivotal role in shaping this choice.
As a CIO, securing buy in requires building a compelling business case that speaks the language of the rest of the C-Suite. It’s your responsibility to effectively articulate the nuances of infrastructure, security and financial considerations across both public and private cloud solutions.
We’ll outline three key pillars to support your decision-making process and provide you with the framework you need to sell your cloud strategy to the wider business. These pillars will help you structure a comprehensive argument that addresses the infrastructure, security and financial considerations decision makers care about the most.
Infrastructure
When discussing infrastructure differences between public and private cloud, there are three key things the C-Suite need to establish: “How will it impact our company’s growth potential?”, “Can the cloud adapt to our evolving market landscape?”, and “What level of control can we maintain?”. These considerations form the foundation of a meaningful discussion.
Public cloud infrastructure offers compelling advantages that directly address executive priorities. Its scalability and flexibility translate directly into faster deployment and product launches, providing businesses with a tangible competitive edge. Further, companies can rapidly expand into new markets without the traditional constraints of lengthy IT procurement cycles.
Private cloud infrastructure offers a different set of strategic benefits. Purpose-built and tailored to the specific needs of the business, it provides unparalleled control. While private cloud is traditionally less scalable, the emergence of Kubernetes, an open-source platform for automating containerised applications, has opened the playing field for deployment flexibility. For companies in regulated industries or with very specific compliance requirements, private cloud solutions ensure complete control over architectural decisions, while still operating in a modern, virtualised environment.
Security
Cybersecurity has become a top priority for organisations, with recent research revealing half of businesses (50%) report experiencing some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. Worryingly, this figure rises to 70% for medium businesses and 74% for large businesses. This demands a nuanced approach to cloud security that addresses the C-Suite’s fundamental risk management concerns.
Public cloud offers a compelling way of managing risk without requiring a large internal security team. Everything from security maintenance to vulnerability monitoring will be managed by world-class security teams employed by the cloud provider. Automated backup and disaster recovery capabilities are also offered, ensuring business continuity, while security certifications upheld by providers eliminate the costly and time-consuming process of individual organisational compliance. This gives companies peace of mind when it comes to managing complex security operations.
Private cloud presents an alternative approach focused on granular control and customisation. Organisations can implement precise security measures aligned with their specific risk and compliance needs. In addition, companies are able to create customised security frameworks that match exact business requirements. This model is particularly attractive for companies in industries with strict regulatory requirements or those handling sensitive data, as it ensures all information remains in-house.
Financial
The one thing that is universally top of mind for the C-Suite, is finances. Therefore, as a CIO, your discussions about the financial aspect of the public vs private cloud debate must demonstrate how cloud strategy directly impacts the company’s bottom line and future economic flexibility.
Public cloud’s financial model offers remarkable advantages in today’s economic climate. Requiring minimal upfront investment, and the option for subscription-based payments, it transforms capital expenditure into manageable operational costs. Further, the elimination of physical infrastructure management also means reduced overhead costs. It also offers a pay-as-you-grow model, which means costs scale in line with business growth, improving cash flow management and reducing financial risk – something that is increasingly front of mind in uncertain economic times.
The private cloud financial model offers long-term cost efficiencies, particularly for companies with stable, predictable workloads. A custom infrastructure does require a higher initial outlay, but the long-term predictability can be significant. Private cloud solutions are particularly cost-effective for businesses looking to modernise their technology stack while maintaining financial discipline.
The choice between public and private cloud isn’t simply a technology decision – it’s a strategic business choice that shapes an organisation’s future agility, innovation capacity and competitive positioning. The most successful cloud strategy requires a balanced understanding of both models and a nuanced, comprehensive discussion.
As a CIO, your role is to empower the C-Suite with this knowledge and engage in the debate to ensure the best cloud solution is chosen for your organisation.
