As your business moves along the path toward digital transformation, you may be wondering if a hybrid cloud solution is a good way to achieve your objectives. Making the most of both public and private cloud computing, a hybrid cloud environment allows you more control over areas like data storage and security.
Hybrid cloud is oftentimes confused with another approach called multi-cloud. While a hybrid cloud is bound together, offering the user a cohesive experience, a multi-cloud utilizes two or more public clouds. Multi-cloud is experienced as multiple cloud environments, rather than a single computing source.
The Challenge: The inherent difficulty with a hybrid cloud solution is running private and public cloud seamlessly while retaining a high level of control over where data is stored and how to execute compute cycles. This is particularly sensitive for those in industries with stringent data regulation and compliance requirements, such as finance or healthcare.
Over the past few years, new tools have emerged that ease this challenge for businesses. The development of container-based microservices has allowed for the distribution of workloads through an orchestration platform, making hybrid cloud easier to use.
There are additional challenges, such as having the right in-house skills to shift from on-site data centers to cloud computing and management, and having the right level of access to different areas of your environment.
The Benefits: Despite any challenges with hybrid cloud computing, there are a number of benefits that continue to make it a common choice among businesses pursuing digital transformation:
- Optimization: In a hybrid cloud environment, you can place workloads based on performance requirements and any factors impacting latency and congestion.
- Data governance: Decide where to store data based on industry regulations, security, and more.
- Cost-effectiveness: A hybrid cloud solution allows you to make the most of operating expenses, shifting compute jobs to a public cloud, rather than investing in more in-house resources that would be categorized as capital expenditures.
- Incremental migration: If your eventual goal is for your compute to reside completely in the cloud, a hybrid cloud environment allows for a gradual shift.
Before you embark on a hybrid cloud migration, you should be aware of the three main architectures that you’ll need to evaluate:
Vendor-Native: In this option, you begin by choosing a public vendor offering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), then working to align your in-house resources with the public cloud. You’ll essentially be working to extend the public cloud into your data center to maximize compatibility.
Hybrid Cloud Management Solution: Many businesses successfully manage a hybrid cloud environment through the use of a software solution. It allows you to manage private and public cloud resources from a single dashboard.
Platform as a Service: Platform as a Service (PaaS) allows your developers to create custom applications without being required to provision the underlying infrastructure.
When you are ready to begin creating a plan for implementing a hybrid cloud solution, contact us at Cloud Source. We can help you determine the right architecture for your cloud computing plans as well as identify challenges and obstacles before they occur, preparing your company for a seamless migration.