What is the hybrid cloud and how can you use it?
Organizations are no longer wondering if the cloud is the right solution. Today, 73% of organizations have at least one application or percentage of their infrastructure in the cloud. While the cloud was popularized as a tool for cost savings, it has now become a pathway to many business benefits, including the enablement of new digital business models.
As cloud adoption continues to soar, different types of cloud solutions have emerged. The main three types are public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. Read on to learn what the hybrid cloud is and how it can be used in your business.
What is the hybrid cloud?
The hybrid cloud is simply defined as an infrastructure solution which blends private and public cloud computing resources, although this definition can vary slightly.
“Hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment that uses a mix of on-premises, private cloud and third-party, public cloud services with orchestration between the two platforms. By allowing workloads to move between private and public clouds as computing needs and costs change, hybrid cloud gives businesses greater flexibility and more data deployment options.” – Tech Target
Within a hybrid cloud, the public and private components are independent but connected through an encrypted connection to minimize the exposure of data on public cloud environments such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google.
Benefits of a hybrid cloud solution
- Flexibility in public cloud resources
- Improved disaster recovery
- Cost savings for unpredictable or specific workload requirements
- Control of performance
- Real-time scalability
How can you use the hybrid cloud?
The hybrid cloud model can provide IT organizations with more flexibility and control over IT cost components than the exclusive use of alternatives such as private clouds, traditional premises-based data centers, or public clouds. The hybrid cloud model can be particularly suitable for organizations who have seasonal or unpredictable spikes in computing workloads, such as companies whose eCommerce sales triple during the holiday season.
The hybrid cloud provides the flexibility to scale to public cloud resources during these periods of high demand for continuity of performance. Instead of paying for public cloud resources year-round, it’s only necessary for IT teams to pay for the resources during the periods of actual use.
Downsides of hybrid cloud
- Complex security requirements
- Costs of hybrid cloud
Potential for data bottlenecks- Possible difficulty maintaining visibility
If your organization is poorly-suited for a public cloud due to various security and regulatory requirements, you may not be the right candidate for a hybrid cloud infrastructure model. Many of the primary disadvantages of the hybrid cloud are associated with data security, compliance requirements, and potential availability risks.
While the data transport to public cloud resources occurs over an encrypted connection, ensuring that this encryption complies with industry and regulatory requirements can be challenging in the most highly-regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, or government. Security in the public cloud has improved, but organizations must evaluate whether the shared responsibility model of public cloud vendors such as AWS is sufficient to protect data assets or if a private cloud or dedicated premises-based infrastructure is the right choice.
Finally, organizations with a need for extreme uptime may be best suited by fully-dedicated private cloud resources instead of the minor uptime risks associated with public cloud vendors.
Conclusion
The hybrid cloud is a cloud infrastructure model which blends private and public cloud resources to create a cost-effective approach which can provide scalability for organizations with unpredictable workload requirements. While this approach is not the best infrastructure design for every organization, especially companies with strict security requirements, a hybrid cloud can drive cost savings and flexibility for many organizations.
Contact your managed IT services provider for help finding and deploying the best cloud solution for your business needs.
