When researching the cloud, it may seem like the landscape of cloud computing is in a state of constant evolution. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago when the public cloud – offering those once revolutionary promises of instant access and on-demand scalability – burst onto the scene. Then, as privacy and compliance concerns began to take center stage, the private cloud was developed, offering scalability that was comparable to the public cloud but in a private and more secure virtualized environment. Of course, the landscape has once again evolved to include the hybrid cloud, which offers the best of both private and public environments.
But What Exactly is the Hybrid Cloud?
Simply put, the hybrid cloud is the combination of public cloud and private cloud environments:
Public cloud – On-demand access to compute resources and storage services is provided over the internet. In the public environment, the infrastructure and hardware are provided by a third-party and shared among multiple users.
Private cloud – In many private cloud scenarios, the company has invested in a virtualized private infrastructure. The cloud offers the ability to extend the proficiency of that infrastructure, allowing for more efficient allocation of resources.
Hybrid cloud computing - allows you to merge the advantages of both the public and private cloud, creating an environment that directly meets the needs of your business. For instance, if you are attracted to the low entry cost and scalability of the public cloud, but have compliance and security restrictions, the hybrid cloud may be the best option. In addition, if you have already invested in a private infrastructure, the hybrid cloud allows you to continue to capitalize on this investment, while also letting you transition some computing resources to the public cloud.
So how do you know if the hybrid cloud is right for you?
To help you determine if the hybrid cloud is right for your company, Expedient has put together this list of criteria to consider:
Security - Even if you are confident in your public cloud provider’s ability to ensure security, there may still be regulations or restrictions regarding your proprietary, intellectual property or confidential data, driving the need for this environment to live in its own separate platform. In this scenario, the hybrid cloud lets you continue to run some applications through your own infrastructure while transitioning other applications to a public environment.
Demand fluctuations - Do your demands for computing resources fluctuate (e.g. Development, Consulting, and Seasonality)? Public cloud solutions let you scale your resources up and down to match – meaning you only pay for what you use.
Existing infrastructure - If you have already invested in an IT infrastructure, the hybrid cloud lets you take full advantage of that investment while enabling you to transition other applications to the public cloud.
Compliance - If you operate in a highly regulated industry (e.g. Healthcare, Banking, Financial) the hybrid cloud enables you to house your critical applications and data in a physically separate private environment.
Need more insight on whether the hybrid cloud is right for you? Download our Private vs. Public vs. Hybrid Whitepaper for more info.
