Understanding the Cloud Continuum Cloud Services For Dummies, IBM Limited Edition  10 Meeting the needs of businesses requires that IT provide a  variety of different types of cloud services. Understanding the  characteristics of a continuum of cloud services helps you  understand what’s required to meet certain business goals. All cloud environments aren’t equal. Therefore, you need to  understand the different types of cloud models available to  support the business. Your decision of what type of cloud  service to select is based first and foremost on your security  and service level requirements. It may be straightforward to  assume that all public clouds are the same and all private  clouds work in the same way. But in reality there are shades  of gray. For example, you may have a public cloud service that’s only  available to customers who sign a long-term agreement. You  may have a private cloud that’s an evolution of your data  center. Some public clouds may offer a sophisticated level of  security offerings while other public clouds have virtually no  security at all. Ultimately, you need to select the type of cloud service that  provides use of the right resources at the right time with the  right level of security and governance. The continuum of cloud services, depicted in Figure 1-1,  includes both public and private services that meet different  needs within an organization. These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any  dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.