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The widespread adoption of public clouds like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure signifies nothing less than a second digital revolution that provides companies across industries the ability to boost the efficiency of operations, migrate applications to the Cloud, and double down on security. Public clouds are much like a public utility company in that computational services are provided on demand through a third-party vendor to multiple tenants. In contrast to the on-premises option of a private cloud, public clouds are remotely accessible from practically anywhere with Internet service. Many companies choose to build a hybrid cloud, which combines both public and private cloud services.

This post will review Gartner’s projections for cloud spending and adoption in 2023 and outline the benefit of public clouds in general.

Learn more: Managed Disaster Recovery using Microsoft Azure

Critical benefits of public cloud adoption

The continued growth of public cloud adoption demonstrates businesses are starting to understand that the Cloud is crucial in the eternal struggle to stay ahead of competitors, decrease costs, and raise profit margins. Cloud technology combines a lot of different categories of technology and service types. However, the benefits offered by a public cloud are holistic and comprehensive, including:

• High scalability. Public cloud services are available on demand. Companies can rapidly “turn on” the tools and processes they need to achieve specific business outcomes, like turning on a faucet or flipping a light switch.
• Resilient networks. Public cloud providers create network duplicates and redundancies to minimize downtime.
• Cutting-edge technology. Public cloud companies continuously invest in the latest and best technology systems to stay competitive. Additionally, public cloud providers deploy updates automatically through the Cloud, eliminating the need to update each device or application individually.
• Pay per use. Microservices and comparable tools only bill when a specific operation is activated.
• Shift IT focus to innovation. Maintenance of legacy applications, systems, and hardware is a massive line item in many IT budgets. By adopting a public cloud, companies scale down those costs by effectively outsourcing the upkeep of applications.

Learn more: How to prepare your enterprise with AWS cloud solutions

Public cloud security

Security is a top concern in public cloud ecosystems. Unlike traditional security models, the cloud user and provider split security responsibilities, with each public cloud service maintaining slightly different security protocols. For example, AWS is responsible for securing infrastructure, while users must secure their applications and data.

It is a common misconception that public clouds are less secure than private clouds or legacy on-prem data centers. TechTarget reports that 75% of IT professionals believe public cloud adoption to be more secure than their own on-prem data centers. Cloud providers have done much to further dispel this myth by offering next-gen security products such as AI-powered threat detection, utilizing zero trust protocols, and requiring users to manage permissions closely.

However, users are still on the hook when it comes to security. Accordingly, IT departments must train in cloud-native security ideologies such as zero trust networking architecture (ZTNA).

Also read: How supply chain optimization defends against malware attacks and other threats

Choosing the right public cloud for your business

It is doubtful that the exponential growth and adoption of public cloud services will slow anytime soon. Technology experts safely predict that next-gen cloud technology will innovate in the realms of automation and specialized services. And quantum computing could completely transform the Cloud and how we use it in daily life.

But finding the right public cloud for your enterprise can be intimidating. Steps like performing a cost/benefit analysis, and determining which applications or infrastructure to migrate first, are time-consuming at best and, in the worst-case scenario, can lead many companies to paralysis or a half-formed cloud strategy.

That is why seeking an expert opinion on public cloud adoption is a vital first step. At OnX, our team regularly guides clients through migrating, managing, and modernizing their technologies to a public cloud. Our highly qualified engineers and vendor-agnostic project managers lead your team through our vetted, phased approach to modernization. And our consultants provide you with the guidance you need to flesh out your cloud strategy fully.

Get in touch to start your public cloud journey.