What is a Public Cloud?

Public Cloud Infrastructure Shifts Computing Resources to an On-demand Provider

The definitive platform of the cloud computing revolution, public cloud, is a model in which resources such as virtual machines, applications, and storage are provided as a service by a third party rather than being hosted in the enterprise data center. Key advantages of a public cloud include the ability to consume resources on an on-demand basis without the need to provision, deploy, and maintain the associated on-premises hardware and software.

Typically offered by subscription, or on a pay-per-usage basis, public cloud services make it possible to shift many computing costs from capital expense (CapEx) budgets to operating expense (OpEx) budgets.

Similarly, public cloud infrastructure allows organizations to avoid underutilized on-premises investments as well as the service issues that can result from insufficient on-premises capacity. The ability to scale capacity up and down quickly and cost-effectively as demand changes makes public cloud especially valuable for organizations experiencing rapid growth, seasonally variable demand, or frequently changing service needs.

The infrastructure and services for a public cloud are owned and operated by a cloud service provider (CSP) such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Alibaba. They can be accessed by users and organizations from any location via the internet or a dedicated network. While the public cloud model encompasses many types of services, a public cloud typically includes on-demand computing and self-service provisioning; resource pooling; scalability and rapid elasticity; pay-per-use pricing; measured service; resiliency and availability; security; and broad network access.

Learn more about secure application delivery in public cloud

How A10 Networks Supports the Public Cloud

Secure application delivery in a public cloud can pose challenges given the use of public networks. A10 Networks Thunder® Application Delivery Controller (ADC) helps organizations ensure security, performance, and availability for public cloud application delivery with a unified solution to centrally manage and deliver secure, elastic, and consistent application services in public clouds.