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Private cloud operates like a public cloud only, but the resources are operated exclusively for a single organization.

The message to be conveyed is:

Private cloud operates just like a public cloud except that the resources are operated exclusively for a single organization.

The usage of "only" in first sentence seems wrong to me. In my opinion, the word "only" makes it sound more like:

Private cloud operates like a public cloud only and not like any other cloud.

Am I correct about the interpretation of the sentence or is it grammatically correct? If it's wrong, what would be the correct one-word-replacement of "only"?

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    Maybe it's Indian English in your first quote. See related discussion on ELU
    – NVZ
    Aug 24, 2016 at 18:21
  • @NVZ: I'm not sure. I read it on a website which is a '.com' website. I would have confirmed it to be Indian if it were a '.in' site. Btw, is it acceptable in Indian English? What would be the correct word in British and American English?
    – 7_R3X
    Aug 24, 2016 at 18:25
  • Yea, acceptable and frequently used in Indian English. Do check out the link in my first comment. :)
    – NVZ
    Aug 24, 2016 at 18:27
  • NVZ - Perhaps "Anne Shields" is a nom de plume, then? @7_R3X - given the construction of the sentence, your just like is acceptable if a little informal. You might write instead: Private cloud operates exactly as a public cloud does, except that the resources are operated exclusively for a single organization.
    – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
    Aug 24, 2016 at 18:35
  • 1
    @user3169 No; although the registrar is a Canadian company, their resellers operate all over the world. The address given in whois is that of the Canadian company which hides the identity of Marketrealist's true registrant. The .com registry is still controlled by a U.S. entity. None of these tell us where the domain is registered, i.e. where Marketrealist.com conducts its business.
    – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
    Aug 25, 2016 at 0:27

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In your example sentence

Private cloud operates like a public cloud only, but the resources are operated exclusively for a single organisation.

there may be a typo since the sentence works without "only" and also without "but", or transposed

Private cloud operates like a public cloud only the resources are operated ...
Private cloud operates like a public cloud but the resources are operated ...
Private cloud operates like a public cloud but only the resources are operated ...

In the section of the article for your example sentence the author is comparing and contrasting public and private clouds and the wording of any of the three sentences could be used to convey this thought.

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    I doubt a typo, @Peter. Other pieces by "Anne Shields" contain usages which might be Indian English. Also, the comma after only makes a transposition with but extremely unlikely.
    – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
    Aug 25, 2016 at 0:34
  • 1
    I supposed she might be saying that a Private cloud operates exactly the same as a Public cloud, that there isn't any additional functionality, as in "exactly the same, no more and no less", and that a difference is which side of the Firewall the cloud is on, but the reading becomes a bit torturous.
    – Peter
    Aug 25, 2016 at 0:59
  • @Peter It's most probably Indian English. I see such sentences in India very often.
    – NVZ
    Sep 3, 2016 at 17:28

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