Nevertheless, for companies that already had their own functioning data center in their premises, it can turn out to be more profitable to run some solutions there, instead of uploading all their applications, workloads, and computer assets to the Cloud. This calling for cost optimization results in many organizations opting for Cloud hybrid architecture.
In essence, the hybrid approach is about keeping multiple Cloud environments connected to local data centers. It could also be defined as “provision, use and administration of coordinated and policy-based services in a combination of internal and external Cloud services”. And, in fact, it implies a combination of public, private and/or local Cloud infrastructure, with a certain level of integration and orchestration between these environments.
The public Cloud offers state-of-the-art services and superior capacities. On the other hand, nowadays Cloud data centers have many security, quality and availability certifications that guarantee and grant tools to safeguard information assets. Data protection can be controlled in these environments, depending, of course, on the legal regulations of each country. In fact, in general, it can be said that nowadays public Cloud data centers are safer than local data centres. In any case, for companies that prefer to manage some applications and resources in a private Cloud, it is perfectly possible to combine both worlds. In such sense, a possible way to go is to trace workloads, applications and data migration in stages with hybrid Cloud models which conjugate public and private Cloud functionalities in a progressive manner.
Hybrid future
An estimate from Gartner Consulting indicates that for 2021 more than 75% of medium and large organizations will have adopted a hybrid or multicloud strategy. On the other hand, a study indicated that in 2019, the global hybrid Cloud market was valued in UDS 61 billions, and t is foreseen that it will reach USD 284 billion in 2027, with a compound annual rate of almost 23% in the lapse in question. With which, it could be confirmed that the hybrid Cloud is the corporate It architecture model that will prevail at least in the immediate future. The growing number of digital applications and advanced technology solutions, the search for analytic and data management capacities and the demand for accessible and profitable computing foster the global hybrid Cloud market growth. Another powerful force is the growing need of interoperability between Cloud services and the existing systems. Besides, organizations look for a multicloud approach (implicit in the hybrid model) to reduce dependence on a sole supplier (that is to say, not managing a unique cloud platform) and profit better from the functionalities of each.
Defining the plan
To deploy a successful hybrid Cloud strategy it is key to have “visibility and to be able to follow up on all IT assets and Cloud services in the whole organization”. This allows for software to be always updated, resources well configured and to respond to compliance standards. It also allows for informed decision making about how and where to implement workloads (in the company´s own premises or in the Cloud), obtain savings and decrease risks.
Otherwise, to successfully manage workloads in several Cloud environments a defined plan is needed – one which combines the tools and solutions with the organizations’s Cloud needs.
To operate with this hybrid Cloud approach, interoperable solutions that can be stored in several different platforms are required (such as those container-based, without servers, in virtual devices or Kubernetes).
With planned “hybridation” organizations can benefit from the advantages of the Cloud universe and deploy flexible IT environments, highly scalable and with a projection into the future, keeping risks under control.