For most businesses, the cloud is no longer a question of “if.” It is the default. Drawing on Flexera’s 2026 State of the Cloud report, roughly 94 percent of organizations use cloud services in some form, about half of all workloads now run in public cloud, and 73 percent of organizations run a hybrid cloud (a mix of public and private). The real question has shifted from whether to adopt the cloud to which model fits your business, your data, and your industry. 

IT Solutions Technology Partners designs and manages public, private, and hybrid cloud environments for businesses in healthcare, legal, financial services, and other regulated industries. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, ITS pairs cloud infrastructure with the security, compliance, and managed IT support that make the cloud an advantage rather than a risk.

What are the three cloud computing models?

There are three main cloud computing models: public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. Public cloud uses shared resources from a third-party provider like Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud. Private cloud is a dedicated environment built for a single organization. Hybrid cloud connects the two, keeping sensitive workloads private while using public cloud for the rest. Most businesses end up hybrid, which is now the most common enterprise architecture.

All three share common ground: each replaces or augments on-premises hardware to add flexibility, scalability, and resilience; each requires internet access for full functionality; and most organizations outsource day-to-day management to a provider. Where they differ is control, cost, and how they handle sensitive data.

Is the public cloud secure?

Yes. The major public cloud platforms (Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud) run some of the most secure, resilient, and physically protected data centers in the world, far beyond what a typical office server room can offer. Public cloud security works on a shared-responsibility model: the provider secures the underlying infrastructure, and the customer is responsible for configuring it correctly, controlling access, and protecting their own data. Most cloud security incidents trace back to customer-side misconfiguration, not a failure of the platform.

That distinction is exactly why expertise matters. A public cloud environment that is set up and monitored correctly is highly secure; one that is misconfigured is not. For businesses with strict security or compliance requirements, a private or hybrid model can add isolation and control, but even then, the deciding factor is how well the environment is designed and managed. This is where a managed cloud provider earns its value.

How do you choose the right cloud model for your business?

Choosing a cloud model starts with your data and your obligations, not the technology. Weigh five factors: the sensitivity of your data and any compliance requirements, how variable your workloads are, your budget and cost predictability, how well each option integrates with the systems you already run, and the in-house skills you have to manage it. For most businesses, the answer is a hybrid mix rather than a single model.

• Security and compliance: Regulated data (for example, healthcare records under HIPAA or financial data) often belongs in a private or hybrid environment with strong controls and, where relevant, alignment to standards like SOC 2 Type II.
• Scalability: If demand spikes or grows unpredictably, public cloud elasticity is a strong fit.
• Cost: Public cloud shifts spending from upfront capital to pay-as-you-go. That is efficient for variable workloads, though steady, high-volume workloads sometimes cost less on dedicated infrastructure.
• Integration: The best model works with your existing applications and data, not against them.
• Skills and support: Be honest about whether your team can secure and manage the environment, or whether a managed provider should.

What cloud services can you bundle with your environment?

Cloud infrastructure is most valuable when paired with the services that run on and around it. Beyond compute and storage, businesses commonly bundle backup and disaster recovery, cloud telephony (VoIP), Microsoft 365 support, collaboration tools like OneDrive and SharePoint, and ongoing monitoring and management, often for a predictable monthly fee. Bundling frees your team from routine maintenance and gives you a single accountable partner.

Working with a managed provider, cloud computing can be combined with almost any IT service you need, along with strategic guidance to plan your technology roadmap. IT Solutions Technology Partners pairs public, private, and hybrid cloud with backup and disaster recovery, Microsoft 365, cybersecurity, and a dedicated Strategic Advisor, so your systems are managed for you while you focus on the business.

How does IT Solutions Technology Partners help with cloud?

IT Solutions Technology Partners helps businesses choose, migrate to, secure, and manage the right cloud environment for their needs. Founded in 1994 and supporting clients from 14 offices with a team of roughly 450 to 500 professionals, ITS designs public, private, and hybrid cloud solutions with security and compliance built in from the start, which matters most for healthcare, legal, and financial services clients.

As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, ITS is well positioned to help organizations get value from Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 while keeping data protected and costs under control. Whether you are moving to the cloud for the first time, tightening the security of an environment you already run, or balancing workloads across a hybrid setup, ITS manages the complexity so the cloud works as a genuine advantage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the three types of cloud computing? The three models are public cloud (shared resources from a provider like Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud), private cloud (a dedicated environment for one organization), and hybrid cloud (a connected mix of the two). Hybrid is now the most common enterprise approach because it balances scalability with control over sensitive data.

Is the public cloud safe for business use? Yes, when configured and managed correctly. Public cloud providers secure the underlying infrastructure, while the customer is responsible for correct configuration, access control, and data protection under a shared-responsibility model. Most incidents come from customer-side misconfiguration, which is why professional setup and monitoring matter.

What is hybrid cloud, and why is it so popular? Hybrid cloud connects a public and a private cloud so they work as one, keeping sensitive workloads private while using public cloud for scalability and cost efficiency. It is popular because it gives most businesses the best of both: about 73 percent of organizations now run hybrid, and Gartner expects roughly 90 percent to do so by 2027.

Is the cloud cheaper than on-premises infrastructure? Often, but not always. The cloud converts large upfront hardware costs into predictable pay-as-you-go spending and removes maintenance overhead, which suits variable and growing workloads. For steady, high-volume workloads, dedicated infrastructure can sometimes cost less, which is why some organizations use a hybrid mix. Total cost of ownership, not sticker price, is the right measure.

Which cloud model is best for regulated industries like healthcare and finance? Regulated organizations usually favor private or hybrid models, which allow tighter control, isolation, and compliance alignment (for example, HIPAA for healthcare or SOC 2 Type II). The key is not just the model but how well the environment is designed, secured, and documented.

What is the shared-responsibility model? It is the division of security duties between a cloud provider and its customer. The provider secures the physical infrastructure and core services; the customer secures how they configure the environment, who can access it, and the data they put in it. Understanding this split is essential to using any public cloud safely.

Updated 9/3/2026