A private cloud consists of infrastructure dedicated completely to a single organization. Usually, an organization will buy the cloud infrastructure, install the software, and hire an IT management team. In this case, the organization owns everything from top to bottom.

On the other hand, a VPC runs on shared infrastructure just like a public cloud. However, a VPC offers a level of isolation between the cloud customers sharing resources. This layer of isolation is achieved through a private IP subnet or a virtual local area network (VLAN). 

Organizations that benefit most from VPCs are companies that need a private cloud environment but also want public cloud resources and savings. 

VPCs come with all the features you’d expect from a public cloud, including:

• 1. Agility

  A VPC provides full control over the size of your network and the ability to deploy and scale resources at any time.

• 2. Security

  Although a VPC is part of a public cloud, VPCs are logically isolated networks so your data and applications are entirely separate from your provider’s other clients. Access is limited to your resources, unless you grant this.

  Logical isolation makes a VPC environment inherently more secure. However, public cloud security isn’t automatic, even with VPC – it must be intentionally deployed.

  Cloud security is always a shared responsibility between a cloud provider and its clients. Regardless of the cloud environment, users must take steps to secure data and applications in the cloud. For example, public cloud environments like Amazon AWS can be secured with third-party applications that automatically detect and manage threats.

• 3. Affordability

  VPCs are cost-effective. You’ll save money on hardware, labor, and other related cloud resources. The cloud provider will be responsible for all maintenance and upkeep for all physical servers and software.

• 4. Availability

  A virtual private cloud offers redundancy and fault-tolerant availability zone architectures to decrease downtime and keep applications and workloads available every moment. 

Virtual private clouds can be configured to tighten down security at the highest level. For instance, an organization can create virtualized replicas of access control features usually employed by traditional data centers. Like data center security, a VPC can control access to resources by IP address.

When moving to the cloud, using a VPC is an affordable way to make sure your network infrastructure will grow with your business over time. It doesn’t make sense for most businesses to invest in private cloud infrastructure when a more affordable alternative – a VPC – is readily available.