Cloud computing is creating a new era for information technology by providing a set of services that appears to have infinite capacity, immediate deployment and high availability at trivial cost. It is the result of the evolution of computing and communications technology from a high-value asset to a simple commodity. In this evolution, the focus shifts from the concept of computing as a physical thing to computing as a service, like electricity, that is accessible from the nearest network connection. An organization, which is under increasing pressure to provide computing services at the lowest possible cost, can choose either public or private clouds to meet these needs. However, driven by concerns over security, regulatory compliance, control over quality of service, and long-term costs, many organizations choose internal private clouds. Private clouds provide the same cost and flexibility benefits as public clouds and also enable an organization to control the quality of service delivered to their users. In addition, private clouds allow an organization to better secure data and meet governance regulations which is usually a major concern when using public clouds. Many universities spend huge amount of money yearly on ICT infrastructure. About ninety percent of ICTs budgets are consumed by computing requirements that can be centralized and standardized enabling one to do more with less resource. This paper tries to make a ca se for the private cloud as a better platform for collaboration among the Nigerian universities and to propose a safe strategy for migration into the private cloud. Keywords: Cloud Computing, Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Cloud Service Models, Cloud Characteristics
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