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The decision-making process used to move workloads to a Public Cloud service falls along several well-established lines.
Sometimes, businesses want to take advantage of applications offered in the Public Cloud as an on-demand service (Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS). In this case, implementation can be as straightforward as simply subscribing and using (such as Microsoft Office365). In some situations, where there is a desire to perform integration of the SaaS application with other parts of the business (SFDC or ServiceNow), then more effort is required.
The second use-case for consumption of the Public Cloud is Infrastructure-as-a-Service (or IaaS), where users choose to use a server instance (physical, virtual, or container) in the Public Cloud instead of on-premises. Using this approach, IT managers can compare the costs and benefits of running their workloads in the two different environments.
When it comes to application modernization, the Public Cloud providers have an interest in users consuming their platform services (PaaS or Platform-as-a-service) and integrating an organization’s services and capabilities with the Public Cloud platform. This also facilitates the integration of other services (some free, some with a cost) provided by the Cloud Provider and can further lock-in a customer to a specific Public Cloud’s features and architecture.
The other major use-cases are Hybrid Cloud and Multi-Cloud. In these scenarios, customers consume a combination of services from multiple sources, and not just from a single Public Cloud provider. The advantage of a Hybrid Cloud is that customers can choose to run a portion of their workloads in the environment that makes the most sense for them, whether for performance, functionality, or for financial reasons. A Multi-Cloud approach infers the customer is consuming resources from more than one Public Cloud provider, or from a combination of Public Cloud and on-premises resources.