Modernising manufacturing IT is high-stakes. That's why we're addressing public, private, hybrid and multi-cloud options and how to choose the right fit without compromising performance, security, or scalability in this article.
In the already competitive manufacturing landscape, modernisation is a risky step and needs careful planning. As part of a digital transformation project, looking at cloud solutions may be one part of the puzzle – which then begs the question: which cloud solution is the right one for me that allows me to be operationally more efficient and scalable? We’ll take a closer look at the (dis)advantages of public, private and hybrid clouds tailored to the manufacturing industry.
Service Models - IaaS, Paas, SaaS
What Is the Public Cloud and in What Case Should I Consider It?
What Is a Private Cloud And When Should I Consider One?
Making the Transition: Best Practices for Manufacturers
In the cloud, we distinguish between three different models: Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). What the cloud provider manages increases from the former to the latter. Whereas IaaS means virtualisation, servers, storage and networking are responsibility of the service provider – an example would be Microsoft Azure, adding runtime, middleware and operating system on top qualifies as PaaS such as Windows Azure. If you add data and applications to this, it classifies as SaaS – such as Microsoft 365.
In the public cloud, you share online space with other people and businesses to store files and applications that are accessible from anywhere. It offers computing power, databases, networking and software applications (if required), i.e. on-demand access to computing resources and services over the internet. In a nutshell, you get servers, storage, databases, software, analytics and intelligence all in one package.
The cost. You use resources without having to manage physical servers or run software applications on your own computers. That means you won’t have major upfront investments in hardware (think an on-premise server setup for a mid-sized business would typically cost you about £80k) and you pay only for what you need (see ‘flexibility’).
The accessibility. Connect from anywhere on demand.
The flexibility. As cloud services are based on a subscription, you can easily scale up and down according to your requirements, which is especially helpful for a manufacturing cycle where products fluctuate with seasons and the number of your staff may, too.
Security. Albeit not inherently unsecure, due to their multi-tenant environments, public clouds can pose a risk in terms of infrastructure and compliance. Having said that, public cloud platforms do come with advanced security features, so it’s more a matter of knowing how to set your systems up securely.
Speed/Performance. To be able to use cloud services, you need a fast internet connection (this applies to both private and public). However, with more people accessing a public cloud, more traffic will create bottlenecks, so systems are typically slower. Unfortunately, it’s also not guaranteed that the public cloud has the capacity when it’s required.
Dependability. While cloud providers like Microsoft promise a high uptime for its services – virtual machines promise 99.9% but cloud services such as SQL offer 99.99% uptime, there can still be issues if you rely on a data centre in a specific location, so you’re dependent on them if there’s a major issue.
Dependent on cloud service provider (infrastructure): The performance of the services you’re using will depend on the cloud manufacturer’s hardware investments. Unfortunately, it will also be difficult to change providers due to vendor lock-in.
In September 2023, Microsoft Azure servers in Sydney experienced an outage due to overheating after an electrical storm tripped cooling units in its data centre. In July 2024, Azure servers in parts of the US also experienced an outage, apparently caused by a configuration change.
If you have high-value customers where every second of unavailability counts (i.e. easily racking up thousands in costs), it may be better to look at a different solution that allows you to diversify the servers you’re using for your operations.
Mind, these outages can either affect regions (such as the case in Australia) or the entire world (as Google) – so if you’re worried about outages, it’s worth noting that there is a good chance many of your business partners are in fact in the same boat. These issues are usually resolved fairly quickly and depending on the Service Level Agreement (SLA), you may be able to claim credits if the outage exceeds a certain duration.
Given the minimal costs involved in public clouds, they’re great for startups and highly scalable applications.
A private cloud is a type of cloud computing environment that’s dedicated to a single organisation. Unlike a public cloud where computing resources are shared among multiple customers, a private cloud is built for and used exclusively by one organisation.
Dedicated infrastructure and better performance: The hardware, storage, and network are used only by your organisation, not shared with others. A third-party provider guarantees isolation on a server off-site. Should you encounter performance issues, your private cloud provider has access to the hardware and can investigate immediately. Your performance is not affected by other organisations using shared resources.
Full control. In the private cloud, you can design the architecture to suit your business needs. Since it’s your organisation’s environment, you have full control over configuration, security policies, and compliance requirements.
Virtualisation. Private clouds often use virtualisation technologies to pool resources and provide scalability similar to public clouds, but under tighter control.
Security and Compliance. Your data is only accessible for those authorised. This is why organisations in regulated industries, where compliance is crucial, think banks/financial and government institutions, usually choose a private cloud because it’s easier to meet strict regulatory requirements. From a manufacturer’s perspective, think about processes or other trade secrets that would make you want to consider a private cloud.
Predictable costs. Since you’re in control, you know how much you’ll have to spend.
With all the good that can be said about private clouds, there are of course some drawbacks, too.
Cost and maintenance: Costs are significantly higher upfront, as your cloud service provider will lease dedicated infrastructure to you and manage, update and secure it on your behalf.
Scalability Limits: While more scalable than traditional data centres, a private cloud cannot scale as flexibly as a massive public cloud provider.
In short: A private cloud is like having your own fully secured and customisable “cloud data centre” with predictable performance not affected by other organisations access needs, giving you control and privacy but demanding higher cost and effort to manage.
As we’ve mentioned above, due to the security aspect of private clouds, they’re ideal for regulated industries. The other scenario is high workloads – when there are set levels of predictable performance at all times - so you don’t have to worry about capacity. This is a solution we’ve implemented for our customer Harkwell who deal with huge artwork files as part of their operations as a label/flexible packaging manufacturer which removed bottlenecks they experienced with their on-premise system prior to the change.
A multi-cloud strategy means you use two or more cloud providers (public or private) for your infrastructure, platforms, and services, rather than relying on just one. For example, you may run workloads on AWS, use Microsoft Azure for analytics, and Google Cloud for machine learning and that all at the same time. This spreads your risk, as no single vendor dominates. Different workloads may also run on different clouds, or sometimes even across multiple clouds for resilience. Multi-cloud is like diversifying your investments. You don’t keep everything with one bank (provider), but spread it out across several to reduce risk, improve flexibility, and gain access to different features. Although it is more challenging to manage. Using multiple vendors also means you can avoid vendor lock-in with just one cloud provider.
Resilience & Redundancy: If one provider suffers an outage, you can switch to another.
Optimisation: Choose the best service or pricing from each provider. For instance, one cloud might offer cheaper storage, another might have stronger AI tools.
Regulatory Flexibility: Some data may need to stay in specific regions, and multiple clouds can help meet jurisdictional requirements (think GDPR for example).
Complexity: Managing, monitoring, and securing multiple clouds is harder. You need strong governance and tools for visibility.
Cost Management: You may lose economies of scale compared to concentrating workloads with one provider.
Integration: Moving data and workloads between clouds can be technically challenging and expensive.
What are the disadvantages of a multi-cloud?
Complexity: It should come as no surprise that managing, monitoring, and securing multiple clouds is harder. You need strong governance and tools for visibility.
Cost Management: You may lose economies of scale compared to concentrating workloads with one provider.
Integration: Moving data and workloads between clouds can be technically challenging and expensive.
Compared to a multi-cloud, a hybrid cloud focuses on mixing different deployment models (private, public and on-premise solutions).
Hybrid cloud solutions can exist between public, private or on-premise solutions to allow seamless movement between them environments. This approach offers flexibility, security, and cost optimisation but can also present challenges in terms of integration, strategy, and governance. We’ve implemented such solutions for our customers DB Foods, Pickstock Foods, and Habinteg.
Hybrid cloud solutions offer significant advantages for the manufacturing industry. By benefiting from both public and private cloud environments, you can optimise your operations for both cost and performance. For instance, sensitive data and applications that require stringent security measures can be hosted on a private cloud, while less critical workloads can benefit from the scalability and flexibility of the public cloud.
This dual approach ensures that you can scale resources according to demand without compromising on security. Additionally, hybrid cloud solutions facilitate disaster recovery and business continuity by distributing workloads across multiple environments.
Given that some systems will sit on a private cloud while others will be on a public cloud, you’ll need to see how they integrate with each other. That means the underlying strategy needs to be solid as well as governance of the cloud.
For manufacturers considering a transition to cloud solutions, best practices include conducting a thorough assessment of current IT infrastructure and identifying specific needs and goals. It’s essential to choose a cloud provider that offers robust security measures and compliance with industry regulations.
Developing a clear migration strategy is crucial, which includes defining the workloads to be moved to the cloud, setting up a governance framework, and ensuring seamless integration between different cloud environments. Additionally, investing in training for IT staff and leveraging managed cloud services can help ease the transition and ensure ongoing support and maintenance.
If you’d like to learn more about how any of the above cloud solutions could work for you, get in touch.