Public cloud: basic knowledge simply explained

What is a Public Cloud?

The public cloud is a deployment model of cloud computing in which IT resources such as computing power, storage, or applications are provided to a wide range of users over the public internet. The best-known services are offered by the three hyperscalers – Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. In addition, providers such as centron, with its powerful and GDPR-compliant ccloud, also deliver reliable cloud services.

What these providers have in common is that they operate the underlying infrastructure in their own data centres and make it available in a standardised form. Users access the services via self-service portals or interfaces and usually pay only for the resources they actually consume. The public cloud is therefore particularly attractive to businesses that require flexibly scalable IT resources without investing in physical hardware.

What are the Characteristics of a Public Cloud?

The public cloud is defined by several typical characteristics:

• Access via public networks: This makes it available to a broad user base. It is based on the principle of multi-tenancy, meaning that many different customers share the same infrastructure simultaneously, without data or applications overlapping.
• Scalability: Resources can be scaled up or down almost without limit and within a short timeframe.
• Billing models: In addition to the classic usage-based model (pay-as-you-go), subscription-based or even ad-supported options tailored to specific services are available.
• Self-service functions: Users can independently provision, configure, and release resources.
• Service models: Public clouds support Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), providing core infrastructure such as virtual machines and storage; Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), offering development environments and middleware; and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which gives direct access to complete applications.

What are the Advantages of a Public Cloud?

The public cloud offers a broad range of advantages. One of the most significant is cost efficiency. Companies do not need to make large upfront investments in hardware or data centres. Instead, they incur only operational costs, based on actual consumption. This also lowers the entry barrier for smaller businesses, giving them access to enterprise-grade IT.
Another advantage is flexibility and speed. New systems or applications can be deployed within minutes, dramatically shortening development and rollout times while increasing business agility. Thanks to high scalability, traffic peaks can be absorbed with ease, which is especially important for online shops during seasonal surges.

Global availability is another strong point. Public cloud providers operate data centres worldwide, enabling international access and bringing services closer to end customers. This improves performance and reduces latency.
Users also benefit from the reliability of providers. Public cloud operators invest heavily in security and redundancy measures to ensure high availability.
Finally, the public cloud fosters innovation. Companies can easily test and deploy emerging technologies such as AI services, big data analytics, or IoT platforms without the need to build their own infrastructure.