A Public Cloud is one of four main types of cloud computing (others include Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Multi-cloud). Public clouds are the most common form of cloud computing and differ from other types because their primary services (servers for compute, storage, and networking) are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider. This type of cloud computing reduces costs by allowing organizations to share public resources through the internet and to scale resources up or down depending on needs.
In addition to almost unlimited scalability, the benefits of using public clouds include zero hardware maintenance, available high reliability, and increased choices of technology. Organizations commonly choose public clouds for web-based email, online office applications, better storage, and testing and development. Examples of Public Cloud vendors include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
