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At casual glance, one might be led to believe these three deployment models aren't all that different. However, there are some core differences to point out, which may affect an organization's deployment strategy significantly. As Table 2 notes:

• Hybrid cloud takes private cloud and public cloud models (as well as an organization's local infrastructure) and tightly integrates them. This indicates a wide mix of computing services is being used in an integrated fashion to create value.
• Multicloud takes the concept of public cloud and multiplies it. This indicates that two or more public clouds are being used, without a private cloud to muddy the integration.
• Distributed cloud takes public cloud and expands it to multiple edge locations. This indicates that a public cloud service's resources are strategically dispersed in locations as required by the user, while remaining accessible from and complementary to the user's private cloud or on-premises data center.

As such, an organization's existing infrastructure and business demands, combined with its aspirations for moving into the cloud, will dictate their deployment model. But there are also advantages and disadvantages to each which may further dictate an organization's deployment decision. First, all three models provide some level of redundancy. If a failure occurs in one computing core (be it public, private, or local), another core can ideally provide backup services to fill the gap. However, each model does this in a slightly different way. In a similar way, if additional compute resources are required due to a spike in demand, each model can ramp up resources to smooth the demand spike. Hybrid and distributed clouds also have the benefit of making any future transition to a purely public cloud (be it singular or multi-) easier as part of an organization's processes and data are already found in public cloud.

Beyond these benefits, things diverge a bit. While hybrid clouds provide flexibility to maintain sensitive data in a private cloud or on-site, where security can be more tightly controlled, private clouds are resource-intensive to maintain. Additionally, due to the complexity of integrating that private cloud with all other resources, the hybrid cloud reveals a greater attack surface, complicates security protocols, and raises integration costs. Multicloud has the benefit of reducing vendor lock-in (discussed later in this guide) by implementing resource utilization and storage across more than one public cloud provider. Should a need to migrate away from one vendor arrive, it's easier to continue critical services with the other public cloud vendor. This also lends to "shopping around" for public cloud services as costs lower and offerings change. However, this multicloud approach brings with it its own integration challenges, including differences in technologies between vendors, latency complexities between the services, increased points of attack with more integrations, and load balancing issues between the services. A distributed cloud model removes some of that latency and makes it easier to manage integrations and reduce network failure risks from one control center. It also benefits organizations requiring localized data storage due to regulations. However, with multiple servers being involved, it makes it a bit more difficult to troubleshoot integration and network issues across hardware and software. Additionally, implementation costs are likely to be higher, and security for replicated data across multiple locations becomes more complex and risky.