Hybrid Cloud in practice: when should you consider it?

Read on to discover

• What is Hybrid Cloud? Understand the concept of hybrid cloud, an IT infrastructure model that combines multiple environments like public and private clouds for enhanced control, flexibility, and scalability.
• Benefits of Hybrid Cloud. Learn about the key advantages of hybrid cloud solutions, including cost optimization, improved performance, legal compliance, and better security and risk management.
• Hybrid Cloud Architecture. Explore how hybrid cloud architecture integrates public clouds, on-premises private clouds, and hosted private clouds to maximize benefits and minimize drawbacks.
• Challenges of Implementing Hybrid Cloud. Delve into the potential challenges of hybrid cloud, such as data security concerns, network management complexities, and the need for specialized operational management skills.
• Hybrid Cloud Use Cases. Discover real-world applications of hybrid cloud across various industries, highlighting its use in migration, compliance, application development, and disaster recovery.

In the era of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence, computing power is becoming one of the most important currencies. But that is not the only reason why the market for flexible hybrid cloud solutions is growing faster than ever. What is hybrid cloud, what are the key benefits of this solution, and which organizations should consider implementing it?

The market for hybrid cloud solutions is growing every year. By 2021, it will be worth as much as 85 billion dollars. It is estimated that it will more than triple to 262 billion dollars by 2027. This trend reflects not only the increasing development of these technologies, but also the growing demand for such solutions, which offer companies unprecedented flexibility and unique business development opportunities.

What is a Hybrid Cloud?

Hybrid cloud is an IT infrastructure model that combines multiple IT infrastructure environments, provisioned in different models such as public and private clouds, by different providers, but finally acting as integrated IT landscape. This solution provides greater control, flexibility, and scalability of solutions, allowing organizations to take advantage of these hybrid cloud models as needed.

By adopting a full hybrid cloud strategy, organizations can better manage resource utilization based on current needs. The hybrid cloud can be useful for organizations that need to maintain control over sensitive data by storing it on private servers, while benefiting from the flexibility and scalability of public cloud services for other applications. It is also a solution for organizations looking to optimize IT costs by paying only for the resources they use in the public cloud according to their needs.

How Does Hybrid Cloud Work?

Hybrid cloud infrastructure combines multiple computing environments, such as public clouds, private clouds, and on-premises servers. It relies on the flexibility to move workloads and data between multiple clouds environments based on user needs and infrastructure capabilities.

For example, organizations may choose a private cloud when they need to comply with strict data security procedures. At the same time, they might choose a public cloud if they need the scalability and flexibility to support a larger number of users.

Hybrid Cloud Architecture

Hybrid cloud architecture combines different environments to maximize the benefits of each while minimizing their drawbacks. The hybrid cloud environment may include:

• Public Cloud - A computing environment delivered by an external provider such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This edge computing solution enables not only data storage and analysis, but also the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning mechanisms. In addition, users pay only for the services they need, at the time they are needed, using flexibility and scalability of cloud, to optimize the costs of computing power.
• On-premises Private Cloud - This is a computing environment that is located in an organization's own data center on its property and is fully managed by the organization. It provides the highest level of control, especially over the processing of sensitive data, making it suitable for organizations that are required to meet government security standards.
• Hosted Private Cloud - In this model, an external provider offers private cloud services to a specific customer. This solution provides all the benefits of a private cloud, especially in terms of data security control, without requiring the organization to invest in its own IT infrastructure.

These different environments can be combined in a hybrid cloud architecture, which allows organizations to use IT resources in a more flexible and efficient way.

Hybrid Cloud Explained

Hybrid cloud is a solution that combines features of both public and private clouds, allowing organizations to flexibly manage computing resources and data storage.

Hybrid Cloud vs Multi-Cloud

The main difference between hybrid cloud and multi-cloud is the level of integration between different cloud environments. In a hybrid cloud setup, an organization uses both public and private clouds simultaneously but in an integrated way to create a complete computing environment. 

On the other hand, multi-cloud involves using services from multiple public cloud providers, without necessarily integrating them. Hybrid cloud offers greater control over data and applications because organizations can decide which data to store in the public cloud and which in the private cloud, while multi-cloud can lead to increased complexity in managing different cloud platforms.

Hybrid Cloud vs Public Cloud vs Private Cloud

The differences between hybrid cloud and public or private cloud primarily relate to the level of control over infrastructure and data. Public cloud offers broad access to computing resources provided by cloud providers, typically on a monthly fee or consumption basis. 

On the other hand, private cloud offers greater control and security as the infrastructure is managed and controlled internally by the organization. Hybrid cloud combines the best of both public and private clouds, giving organizations the flexibility to manage data and applications while maintaining control over key resources.

8 Key Benefits of Hybrid Cloud

1. Data center residency - Hybrid cloud allows organizations to store data in specific locations, enabling organizations to comply with data protection regulations, especially for sensitive data such as personal or confidential business information.
2. Flexibility and scalability - With hybrid cloud, organizations can adapt their computing resources to changing needs by scaling up or down based on server load.
3. Security and risk management - Hybrid cloud enables the deployment of different levels of security based on the type of data and applications. This allows organizations to effectively manage cybersecurity risks and protect their resources and sensitive information.
4. Improved performance and reduced latency - Hybrid cloud improves system performance and reduces delays in accessing data and applications, resulting in a better user experience and overall business performance.
5. Cost optimization - Organizations can optimize costs by choosing appropriate cloud models based on their needs, resulting in more efficient resource utilization and financial savings.
6. Accelerate innovation - With flexible access to computing resources and the ability to deploy new solutions, the hybrid cloud enables organizations to quickly build, test, and deploy new products and services.
7. Legal compliance - Hybrid cloud enables organizations to meet regulatory and compliance requirements by providing control over stored data and implementing the necessary security procedures.
8. Business continuity, reliability, and disaster recovery - Hybrid cloud ensures reliability and business continuity by ensuring that data and applications can be replicated across cloud across environments in various locations to quickly recover from an incident or a major failure.

Hybrid Cloud Drawbacks and Challenges

The hybrid cloud offers many benefits that make it an attractive solution for enterprises. However, implementing hybrid cloud can present many challenges, and the tool is itself come with its own set of drawbacks. Here are some key considerations:

• Data security - Integrating different cloud environments can lead to serious data security threats, such as hacking or information leaks.
• Network management - Configuring efficient connections between cloud environments can be complicated, requiring providing sufficient network capacity and minimizing delays.
• Operational management - Managing a hybrid cloud requires extensive knowledge and skills, which can be challenging for IT teams.
• Compliance and regulations - Maintaining compliance with various privacy laws and regulations can be difficult in a hybrid cloud environment, especially when data is stored in multiple locations.
• Complex monitoring and management - Hybrid environments can require complex monitoring and management tools, making it difficult to identify and resolve problems.

After considering all the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid cloud, it is clear that it is a tool that can significantly improve an organization's situation. However, it can also present many challenges and difficulties. That is why it is important to choose a trusted and experienced hybrid cloud services provider.

Hybrid Cloud Management

There are several different approaches and tools to managing a hybrid cloud.

• Internal team - An internal IT team can be responsible for managing and monitoring the cloud infrastructure, ensuring control over all aspects of the hybrid environment.
• Cloud Management Platforms - There are specialized cloud infrastructure management platforms, such as Google Cloud Anthos or Microsoft Azure Arc, that can help in managing applications in the cloud and on-premises. However, these are sophisticated tools that require knowledge and expertise.
• Managed Service Provider - An external company that specializes in cloud management can be hired to monitor and manage the hybrid infrastructure, taking this responsibility off of the internal team.

Hybrid Cloud Use Cases

Hybrid cloud is used in a variety of business scenarios, allowing organizations to adopt flexible and scalable approaches to using cloud resources. Here are some examples of how hybrid cloud is being used:

• Public Cloud migration - Transitioning to the public cloud can be a gradual process, and the hybrid cloud allows organizations to move from existing on-premises environments to the public and hybrid cloud environments at a pace that suits their needs and capabilities.
• Data storage compliance requirements - For organizations that must comply with data storage regulations, the hybrid cloud allows sensitive data to be stored on local servers while leveraging the flexibility and scalability of the public cloud for other tasks.
• Application development - The hybrid cloud allows organizations to develop and test applications in a local environment and then deploy them to the public cloud for production. This is especially useful when there is a need to quickly scale computing resources as an application grows in popularity.
• Ensure business continuity and disaster recovery - The hybrid cloud allows organizations to ensure business continuity by replicating data and applications between different cloud environments, minimizing the risk of failure.

Hybrid Cloud Examples Across Industries

The hybrid cloud model is a solution that is proving effective across industries. Banks, for example, can migrate databases from traditional data centers to servers managed by cloud providers, while still keeping certain data on local servers to comply with privacy regulations.

Technology companies can use the public cloud to run applications that are integrated with local ERP instances, warehouse management solutions, and lifecycle management solutions, while moving toward cloud-native application development.

Companies that manage thousands of customers worldwide in the cybersecurity industry can use the public cloud to increase computing power as needed.

In the healthcare industry, the hybrid cloud can enable the storage of sensitive patient data on local servers in compliance with privacy regulations, while leveraging the public cloud for high-volume data processing and medical analytics.

Is Hybrid Cloud Right for You?

It's worth considering hybrid cloud if your organization needs flexibility in data management and workloads. Similarly, if you have sensitive data that needs to remain in a local environment and workloads that can scale in the public cloud, hybrid cloud can be an ideal solution.

With the right strategy and planning, hybrid cloud can be a valuable tool to support your organization's IT solutions. However, it's important to remember that it's a complex solution that can present many challenges, so it's worth looking for an experienced cloud computing service provider. To find out how Comarch can help you develop your business with hybrid cloud services, click here!

Key Takeaways:

• Enhanced Flexibility and Control: Hybrid cloud solutions offer organizations a combination of public and private cloud benefits, providing greater flexibility and control over IT resources and data management.
• Cost Efficiency and Scalability: By leveraging hybrid cloud models, companies can optimize costs by paying only for the resources they use and scale their computing power according to demand.
• Improved Security and Compliance: Hybrid cloud enables businesses to meet stringent data security and privacy regulations by storing sensitive data on private servers while utilizing the public cloud for less critical tasks.
• Real-World Applications: Various industries, from healthcare to finance, successfully use hybrid cloud for data compliance, application development, and ensuring business continuity.