There’s a lot of buzz about the hybrid cloud, and it’s true that a combination of on-premise, private, and public cloud solutions can provide a lot of benefits. Too many companies make the mistake, though, of starting at the wrong end of the process when it’s time to evaluate software solutions. They’ve heard that the hybrid cloud is scalable and provides cost efficiencies, so they start pursuing that solution.
In many cases, a company may not be aware that they are already in a hybrid cloud model. This is because so many software decisions are being driven by line-of-business managers rather than IT managers. As a result, more than half of those companies that say that they need to implement a hybrid cloud infrastructure aren’t aware they’ve already got one, according to Redmond Channel Partner’s Jeffrey Schwartz.
As you evaluate your potential move to a hybrid cloud environment, here are three points to keep in mind:
First, and most importantly, decide what you need. Don’t begin by deciding you need a hybrid cloud solution and then start plugging workloads in where they best fit. Your first step is to evaluate your processes and workloads and determine what kind of infrastructure best supports the activities of your enterprise. Too many companies determine that they need the hybrid cloud, then they are surprised when costs balloon out of control.
Cloud solutions aren’t always better than on-premise, and public and private cloud platforms each have their place. No single hybrid solution is a good fit for everyone, so don’t go for hybrid just on hype. Asking yourself whether you need a hybrid cloud solution should be one of your final questions — not your first.
Have guidelines for governance in place. If you do decide that hybrid cloud is a beneficial change for your company, be diligent about setting up regulations for how your company will decide what goes on-site, on private cloud, and on public cloud applications. You need designated decision-makers that determine where a workload should reside, and guiding principles so their decisions leave little to subjective circumstances.
You’re likely to experience cost savings and productivity improvements with a hybrid cloud solution. Just as taking certain applications to the cloud produced some nice benefits, you’ll experience similar streamlining and savings as you determine the best environment for your different processes. Social media, web content management, and email are all a great fit for public cloud, while your ERP and other back office functions may give you the best performance as private cloud or on-premises applications.
In a fast-changing technology environment, you need an advocate on your side that understands the implications of the improvements you’re considering. We know the technical side, and we’ll work to know the needs of your business, too. Call on Cloud Source for your hybrid cloud solutions.