Public Cloud vs Private Cloud - What is the Difference?

Public Cloud vs Private Cloud

You have made the choice to migrate to the cloud, now you need to decide if you want to utilize a public cloud vs a private cloud. With so many options for cloud services, it can be difficult to navigate the best option for you and your business. 

In this article, we will break down the differences between public vs private clouds to help you find out what’s best for your business.

What is a public cloud?

Public clouds consist of shared IT resources, such as computing power (servers), networking services, and data storage. Public clouds are the most common type of cloud, and references in the IT world to “the cloud” usually mean a public cloud.

With public clouds, resources are managed by a third party, known as a cloud hosting provider.

Cloud hosting providers include Acumatica, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud.

Advantages of Public Clouds 

A public cloud has several unique features. Here are a few key advantages of a public cloud. 

IT hardware costs can be avoided

Companies that use public cloud technology do not have to invest in IT hardware such as servers and networking equipment. Further, companies using public clouds do not have to spend substantial amounts of money building out data centers in which to operate the IT hardware.

Infrastructure maintenance is outsourced

With public clouds, companies do not have to maintain their own IT hardware infrastructure. Maintenance is outsourced to a cloud hosting provider. The cloud hosting provider ensures that all of the cloud resources remain available to the company.

Resources can be scaled up or down on demand

Public cloud resources can be scaled up or down as needed by a company.

When additional computing capacity is needed, servers can simply be “spun up” on the cloud hosting provider. When the computing capacity is no longer needed, the servers can be spun down.

With public clouds, companies pay only for the resources that they are actually using.

Reliability can be guaranteed

Public clouds are operated on enterprise-grade IT hardware located in data centers all over the globe. Geographical distribution helps to eliminate single points of failure, ensuring high levels of availability of cloud resources. In fact, most larger public cloud hosting providers offer guaranteed service level agreements, or SLAs.

What is a private cloud?

Complementary to public cloud technology is private cloud technology.

Unlike public clouds, private clouds consist of IT resources that are under the exclusive control of the company operating the private cloud. The IT resources are not shared.

Private clouds are operated on company-owned IT hardware located on company premises, or in data centers contracted to host the company IT hardware.

Advantages of Private Clouds 

Although a private cloud is different from a public cloud, there are many advantages of private clouds too. 

Great flexibility over hardware and software configurations

Companies that want to be able to fine tune their cloud for their specific needs choose private clouds over public clouds. Compared to public cloud technology, private cloud technology gives companies great flexibility over hardware and software configurations.

Sole control over company data

Private clouds allow companies to retain sole control over their data. This means that companies know exactly how their data is being duplicated and replicated. They know exactly how backups are being made and where the backups are being stored.

Further, the sole control companies exercise over their data in a private cloud helps to ensure the data remains private.

Distributed and scalable resources

Similar to public clouds, private clouds allow IT resources to be distributed and scaled.

With private cloud technology, IT infrastructure that has already been built by a company can be distributed and scaled in a manner appropriate for the needs of the company.

What are the differences between public and private clouds?

The primary differences between public and private clouds are:

1. Who maintains the cloud IT hardware

2. Who controls the company data

Maintenance of IT hardware

An important distinction between public and private cloud technology is that with public cloud technology, the IT hardware on which the cloud operates is maintained by the cloud hosting provider.

The downside of having a cloud hosting provider maintain the IT hardware is that it can come at a substantial financial cost, factored into the price charged by the cloud hosting provider.

Further, companies using a public cloud do not have input into the choice of hardware being used to operate the cloud, as they would with a private cloud.

Control over company data

When using a public cloud, company data is in the hands of the cloud hosting provider. The cloud hosting provider is responsible for the safeguarding of the data.

Should there arise some security vulnerability that allows another “tenant” company on the public cloud to access data belonging to other cloud tenants, company data could theoretically be compromised.

Since private clouds are entirely controlled by the company that owns the cloud, there is no risk of another cloud tenant being able to access private company data.

Which is better - public cloud or private cloud?

It is impossible to say that a public cloud is better than a private cloud, or that a private cloud is better than a public cloud. The answer is different for each individual company.

Companies that operate primarily on the Internet, such as online retailers, probably would benefit the most from using a public cloud. Online retailers often do not make good use of the granular configuration that private cloud technology allows. Further, much of the data used and generated by online retailers is not confidential in nature and is sufficiently protected by the security built into public clouds.

Alternatively, companies that work with highly sensitive data, like companies in the healthcare industry or finance industry, would benefit the most from using a private cloud. In fact, some regulations might, due to privacy concerns, prohibit data from being stored in a public cloud.

As a leader in cloud solutions, S-Metric is here to help. We are a proud partner of Acumatic Public and Private Cloud Solutions. If you are considering cloud software or want to learn more to find out what solution is best for your business, contact us online today.

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Benefits of an Industry Specific ERP Solution for Your Manufacturing Company

What is Acumatica Cloud ERP?

Acumatica Cloud ERP is a leading ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software solution that is developed in industry-specific versions, including manufacturing Edition, tailored for the specific needs of companies in the various industries supported by Acumatica.

Acumatica Cloud ERP takes advantage of latest-generation Cloud technologies to ensure maximum uptime and security.

Acumatica has been in business for over a decade. Over that time, Acumatica has gained a substantial amount of valuable insight into the business needs of a wide range of industries. With over 275 employees and 6,000 customers worldwide, Acumatica continues to show its dedication to developing the best ERP software on the market.

Benefits of Acumatica Cloud ERP in Manufacturing

There are many Acumatica Cloud ERP has for manufacturing companies. Here are just a few:

Accessibility 

Acumatica Cloud ERP is hosted in the Cloud. Being Cloud-based business software, access to Acumatica Cloud ERP is available for company employees and partners using any device connected to the Internet.

Hosted offsite 

Since Acumatica Cloud ERP is not running on company-owned IT hardware, companies using Acumatica Cloud ERP are not responsible for keeping software up to date and making sure security patches are being applied. The Acumatica Cloud ERP Cloud-hosting provider makes sure all necessary software is secure and operating properly.

Industry-specific features and functionality

ERP software developed for general business purposes is typically full of bloat, resulting in confusing and frustrating interfaces, and overall poor performance of the software. This is not the case with Acumatica Cloud ERP, since Acumatica develops industry-specific editions of Acumatica Cloud ERP. These industry-specific editions use interfaces that employees have little difficulty becoming accustomed to.

Why You Need an ERP Solution Specifically Made for the manufacturing Industry

Only Acumatica Cloud ERP Manufacturing Edition is made for the unique needs of the manufacturing industry. With Acumatica Cloud ERP manufacturing Edition, manufacturing companies are able to:

• Get real-time field updates

• Have a complete overview of project details

• Manage per-project budgets

• Track project activities

• Analyze job costs

This can all be done from a single interface using centralized company data.

Industry-Specific ERP Solutions Scale with Your Business

Because Acumatica Cloud ERP does not try to be a one-size-fits-all ERP solution, each industry-specific version of Acumatica Cloud ERP can incorporate industry-specific best practices. As a result, companies are able to maximize the benefits they receive from Acumatica Cloud ERP by using functionality unique to each Acumatica Cloud ERP version.

Increase Speed, Performance, and Efficiency

manufacturing companies that adopt Acumatica Cloud ERP achieve measurable increases in decision-making speed, performance of business operations, and efficiency of project completion. These increases are a result of having:

• Real-time data. With real-time data, project managers always have at their fingertips up-to-date, critical information such as labor utilization, material utilization, and project costs.

• Streamlined interface. Acumatica Cloud ERP takes advantage of company data being centralized in a single database. This ensures that every company department is working with the same data, which helps employees avoid duplicating work. When using Acumatica Cloud ERP, employees no longer have to waste precious time switching between different business software suites.

• Ability to share data with field employees. Since Acumatica Cloud ERP is a Cloud-based business software solution, it is accessible from anywhere in the world where an Internet connection is available. Consequently, field employees at various project sites are able to both receive information from and deliver information to Acumatica Cloud ERP.

Get the Return on Investment You Need

Manufacturing companies that invest in implementing Acumatica Cloud ERP quickly realize a return on their investment, especially compared to other ERP software solutions.

Unlike other ERP software solutions, Acumatica Cloud ERP does not require a large amount of expensive customizations to be made in order to make it a good fit for a company. That is because Acumatica Cloud ERP is produced in industry-specific editions.

Moreover, because Acumatica Cloud ERP is Cloud-based, companies do not need to make the initial investment in pricey servers, networking equipment, and operating system (OS) licenses. And, they avoid the exorbitant cost of continuing maintenance of that hardware.

These cost savings, plus the immediate boost in productivity experienced when Acumatica Cloud ERP is implemented and used, means the software rapidly pays for itself.

How Xsys Inc. Can Get Your Company Up and Running with Acumatica Cloud ERP Manufacturing Edition

Xsys Inc. is an IT consulting firm that supports clients all across North America.

Xsys Inc. specializes in implementing Acumatica Cloud ERP solutions for the manufacturing industry, using the industry-specific Manufacturing Edition of Acumatica Cloud ERP.

In addition to helping manufacturing companies take advantage of Acumatica Cloud ERP manufacturing Edition, Xsys Inc. offers other services that benefit the manufacturing industry, such as:

• Offsite backup and recovery

• Digital asset management

• Desktop and server virtualization

• Customer relationship management (CRM)

• Voice-over-IP (VoIP)

• Proactive site hosting and monitoring

For more information about how Xsys Inc. can help your company grow faster using Acumatica Cloud ERP manufacturing Edition, contact Xsys today for a free consultation.

How a Centralized Point of Access Can Improve Your Business

Having one centralized point of access is essential for any construction business. These control systems allow you to have access to all applications, computing systems, and websites from one single point. This means that all aspects of your business are accessible from the same credentials, from any location.

What is a Centralized Point of Access?

Centralized data essentially means that with only one login, you, or anyone in your enterprise, can have access to all gateways, Java agents, identity servers, devices, and policies from the same location. At Xsys we facilitate this to help make your construction business more efficient. 

When you are able to provide a centralized point of access, you can enable the infrastructure that your construction company needs for installation, configuration, and even monitoring your network. Your employees may need access to standard job tasks, and by giving them the credentials, they can access all of the information they need. 

Benefits of Centralized Data

Accessibility 

When you eliminate the manual processing of data, you reduce the risk of error, and loss of files. This is why Xsys promotes one centralized point of access. Having all of your data in one location makes it more accessible for everyone in your enterprise increasing reliability and efficiency.

Improve Organization 

Having all of your data in one location improves organization, which ultimately leads to efficiency. When you have one business unit instead of multiple, you can take the costs originally allocated to the other units, and put it towards the overall organization needs.

Security 

One of the most important reasons to change to centralized data management is because of the increase it provides to your security. When you make a change to centralized data, all of your data will be secured. No user can access any of your data unless they have been given specific access. Even if they do have access to your data you can choose which data each user has access to, and which they do not have access to.

Improve Convenience

Centralized data also saves you time overall, and is extremely convenient. Manage all of your passwords, logins, and security practices in one location. Not only is this a safer way of managing a construction business, but it facilitates an all-around easier practice for all involved. 

User-Based Access

At Xsys we have created the opportunity to provide each individual employee in your organization with their own access. This allows you to monitor who is accessing your data at which time, and also allows you to give or take access as freely as you choose. 

Cost Savings 

Instead of having multiple data systems to maintain, with centralized data, you will only need one data system. This provides cost-savings in the labor of employees, and the cost to host these systems as well. Especially if your construction company has operations in multiple locations, using less space to store and process your data is essential to lowering overhead costs.

Scalability

Regardless of the size of your current company, there is always room to grow. When you centralize your data, you have the opportunity to choose the size of your enterprise without restrictions. All of your data will be in one location, which allows it to be distributed consistently throughout the organization.

How a Centralized Point of Access Can Improve Your Business 

A centralized point of access makes your construction company flexible. There are so many moving parts in construction with multiple job sites and projects to manage it can be hard to stay organized with so many different resources. 

As a certified partner of Acumatica, we at Xsys recommend Acumatica Construction Edition. Acumatica Construction Edition can give your construction company the centralized point of access that you need to take your business to the next level. 

To schedule a free consultation or to learn what an accessible management platform can do for your company, contact us today.

How Real Time Data Can Improve Your Business

Real-time data is information that is accessible the second it is collected. This means that every time a purchase order is filled or a piece of inventory is received, it will be transported into your construction data software. 

Whether you are looking to monitor your accounting, inventory, supply chain operations, procurement, project management, or risk management, real time data improves all aspects of your business operations.

How Real Time Data Can Improve Your Business 

There are many benefits of real time data, the most of which leads to more insights in your enterprise.

Enhance Decision Making 

More data means more insights. More insights means a better chance at making better decisions for the growth of your organization. The invaluable insights you will receive with real time data includes identifying your strengths, your weaknesses, and what is not the best use of your time. 

The best part about all of this information is that you can make better decisions with only a few clicks. Instead of using old data to determine your next move, use real time data for a competitive advantage.

Accurate Forecasting 

At Xsys, we believe in setting realistic goals that push your construction company to success. The only time that this is possible, is when you have accurate data in hand. By using up to date information  your business can accurately forecast for the future and prepare accordingly. After accessing real time data, you can then continue to adjust for your goals and projections as time goes on. 

Understand Business Performance 

Real-time data allows you to see your construction business’s performance from a different perspective. The success of your business will depend how detailed your tracking system is. This means that when you allow Xsys to provide you with real time data, you can understand your cash flow, revenue, assets, and expenses. 

Instead of viewing your business from an interior perspective, you can visualize your entire business as a whole. This will allow you to understand your business better, and truly see if you are meeting your business goals.

Easily Accessible 

Every financial system is different, but when you utilize real-time data, you have true access to all factors of your construction company. Whether you need information on your financial records, or you need to know exactly where your inventory is in the supply chain, it is accessible with the touch of a button.

Inventory Management

Using real-time data means that there will be less manual data entry. This results in accurate inventory reports, and the ability to know exactly what is in your warehouse at any given moment. This is especially important when it comes to managing multiple job sites or warehouses. Rather than call over to find out what you have in your inventory, you can check through your software in real time.

Why You Want to Be Able to Access Real Time Data from Anywhere 

Real time data is helpful for any business, but especially for operating a business in the construction industry. The construction industry means you are always on the go. Being able to make quick decisions based on real data, and putting out fires while being off the job site is extremely important to your success. 

Take Your Business to the Next Level 

At Xsys, we are a proud partner of Acumatica, a cloud based ERP and provider of real time data. Whether you want to increase revenue or simply facilitate easier overall business processes, utilizing real time data with Acumatica Construction Edition allows you to do so. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you access real time data for your business.