From Tek-Tips Forum:
Zen Kishimoto reviews the 2012 Future in Review Conference Cloud Panel held May 24, 2012 in Laguna Beach:
It is not too difficult to understand what public cloud is and why it is useful to have it. You outsource all the necessary computing and storage needs to somewhere else. On top of that, you pay only for what you use. And you use it as much as you want when you have a large load, and you use less when your load subsides.
When I first heard the term private cloud, I did not get it. You do not outsource computing or storage resources but use your own. Even if you do not use some server or storage, you still keep that server and storage in your building, and that costs you money. Something is missing here. Fundamentally, public and private are different beasts, although they may use the same technologies. In a way, with the emergence of private cloud and in contrast with public cloud, the notion of cloud computing has become more crystal clear.
Watch the FiRe 2012 Cloud Panel video
Read ARCHIMEDIUS, the blog of FiRe Cloud Panel moderator Greg Ness