Cloud computing provides many benefits for many businesses due to its constant availability, pricing structure, and its penchant for being the most easily scalable computing platform. It offers a lot of options that can help an organization control its computing costs when they are constantly fluctuating in the number of resources they need. Some businesses, however, don’t, or can’t afford to trust that resources found in a public cloud can work for all of their business needs, but require the kind of accessibility a cloud solution provides. For these companies, only a hybrid system will do. Today, we will take you through the hybrid cloud, how it fits into a business’s IT infrastructure, and what hybrid clouds are typically used for.
What Is a Hybrid Cloud?
The hybrid cloud is the use of a combination of computing and storage products from public cloud providers and private, self-hosted cloud systems. Since there is no single point of failure, the hybrid cloud is a great solution for any organization that uses variable systems.
Today’s business uses quite a lot of technology resources. From email to collaboration to application deployment to storage; there are a lot of moving parts. For most of these parts, there are now public cloud services that organizations can use to cut down on the large capital costs, setup, and management of computing systems that, while they may not hold too much sensitive data, are still critical for the sustainability of an efficient business.
Why do Businesses Use Hybrid Systems?
Modern business is doing more with less. As a result, businesses are looking to take advantage of cost-cutting actions. With the amount of IT that most businesses use, they would need additional hardware for every process. The capital costs of a new server are substantial. Not to mention the setup and management of that hardware and the software systems used to facilitate business. This can put a major dent in a business’ IT budget. Additionally, the variable nature of costs presents major problems for CIOs and other decision-makers when trying to budget their organization’s IT expenses.
Public cloud services typically charge organizations by the user (on a monthly basis). Thus, providing a clear expectation of what the IT costs are. The availability to scale the number of users up or back is also really easy. As is the setup and management of the solution as a whole. Typically, it is baked right into the cost of the solution.
This is where the hybrid cloud solution comes in. A business may find that they need to have more control over certain parts of its IT resources and storage. This is difficult to do when you use public cloud resources that are managed by the service provider. For these systems, providing a faster (and often more secure) system that is hosted onsite is the right play.
Some businesses only need a system for a short amount of time. For the company that already has its core processes handled through an onsite, private cloud solution, the hybrid cloud gives them the ability to add onto its existing infrastructure in times of need and scale back when that is appropriate. It provides a great deal of flexibility to organizations that get busier in certain seasons.
How Do You Go About Getting Them Both to Work for You?
The main question many have about hybrid cloud adoption is how do you get them to work together? Since hybrid cloud platforms are used by companies that work in the legal, medical, or financial sectors, those examples are the best to look at if your business is considering a shift to a hybrid cloud platform. Each of these industries is heavily regulated, and deals with a lot of sensitive information. As a result, they need to keep compliant and to keep costs down. Thus, they utilize public cloud services for the systems they can use them for.
Is your business looking to utilize public cloud computing on top of the private cloud resources that you already have in place? Let the IT professionals at WheelHouse IT help you find the right solutions for your organization’s needs. Call us at (877) 771-2384 to learn more.
