What is a hybrid cloud and why you need to know about it?

You know cloud, don’t you? It has been around for a while now and it is wide-spread across companies and individual users as well. Thanks to many platforms out there, it is spreading wider every day.

Its uses and implications are so crucial in the era of fast information, that they are not even considered benefits, but rather necessities. Implementing cloud today opens the door to new technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain by providing a functional, secure platform.

There are two main types of a cloud solution that a company can get — the public cloud and private cloud and both have their pros and cons. Let’s examine these first before we get to the ultimate solution for scaling companies — a hybrid cloud.

Private cloud

Let me start by introducing a traditional on-premise (or private) cloud solution that many, mostly large companies, use. This model is based in a company-owned building, with their own hardware.

It enables the company to have a full control over the security and adjustments made to the network. It is also flexible, in a sense that a company can decide and execute changes without any intermediary.

The problem arises when it comes to cost. Probably the biggest part is the one-time hardware purchase (CAPEX expenditure). However, it does not end there. You need to count in other OPEX (operational expenditure) costs of maintenance, IT support, cooling, security solutions, electricity, and the list goes on. Together, these add up to an amount that is a good source of worries for a CFO.

For some companies using and storing sensitive data, the compliance with national and international security regulations may be the additional obstacle on their route to having a successful private cloud solution. Other potential issues include:

· having to manage a physical plant

· lack of elasticity (immediate increasing of the storage space)

· large staffing requirements.

The prevailing number of disadvantages (mostly for smaller companies) lead to a search for alternatives. The public cloud solution can be one of the ways to address these issues.

Public Cloud

Public cloud is owned and managed by a third party. The company rents space in this cloud for a fee. This can be by the hour, pay-as-you-go consumption, or a contract that determines the volumes in advance (usually the best prices).

This model has lower immediate financial requirements (no initial purchase and setup cost) and therefore becomes interesting for many smaller and medium companies. Large corporations, however, are also starting to recognize the benefits of this approach and are looking for potential migrations.

So what is so good about this solution apart from no CAPEX cost? It is usually set up on a pay-as-you-go basis, creating an operational expense. It is very flexible, and a company can easily expand or contract their space according to their actual needs. This can happen almost immediately. Additionally, the company does not have to plan for IT support staff and does not bear any other costs or operational tasks of running an on-site cloud.

On the other hand, there are certain concerns regarding security. Since the company does not have the power over where the software will be stored, it is difficult to secure the cloud in a way the company policy may require. However, there are many providers (mostly international corporations) that fully comply even with the most advanced security regulations and have the tools to specialize the offer for a particular client.

While this stands true, the company still has little to no power over where the data will be physically stored when choosing a public cloud provider, which might impact certain sets of sensitive data.

This is the reason for the implementation of a hybrid cloud solution.

Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud combines the two solutions above and brings the best of both worlds into one ‘mixed’ solution. A company can design a solution based on their needs and decide which information will be stored in a public cloud and which will be kept on the internal, private cloud.

This decreases the cost of storing the data that is not extremely sensitive by outsourcing it to a public cloud. On the other hand, sensitive data can be stored in a private environment, where the company has direct control over the hardware and security.

When scaling companies need more space, this can be easily addressed by expanding the storage on a public cloud almost immediately, while on a private-only solution this would take weeks or even months (depending on the size of the organization and their procurement and IT process).

Hybrid cloud solution decreases the risks, improves the business’ responsiveness to changes in their size and radically decreases costs of IT infrastructure. It gives IT departments the power to manage both environments at different levels and makes the business more flexible.