For enterprises, the focus is on private and hybrid vCloud environments.

For service providers, the focus is on public and hybrid vCloud environments.

Private vCloud – The vCloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization and can be managed by the organization or a third party. The infrastructure can be located on-premises or off-premises.

Public vCloud – The vCloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or to a large industry group and is owned by an organization that sells vCloud services.

Hybrid vCloud – The vCloud infrastructure is a composite of two or more vCloud instances (private and public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized technology. This enables data and application portability, for example, cloud bursting for load balancing between vCloud instances. With a hybrid vCloud, an organization gets the advantages of both, with the ability to burst into the public vCloud when needed while maintaining critical assets on-premises.

Community vCloud – The vCloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns, such as mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations. It can be managed by the organizations or a third party, and can be located on-premises or off-premises.

Private vCloud – Enterprise IT as a provider of vCloud services to consumers.

Hybrid vCloud – Enterprise IT as a consumer of public vCloud services, extending its own private capacity.

Public vCloud – Service provider IT as a provider of vCloud services to a number of enterprise consumers.