You've decided to switch to cloud hosting, but you're not sure whether to go for Private Cloud or Public Cloud. But have you thought about the Hybrid Cloud?
New services, applications and developments are increasingly being developed in public cloud environments. But for existing legacy services, compatibility is not always possible. This is where the Hybrid Cloud comes in.
Here are a few concrete examples:
What is the Cloud-Hybrid?
Ultimately, the Cloud means consuming digital energy like electrical energy: on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The Hybrid Cloud is the combination of Private Cloud and Public Cloud environments to meet all business requirements. The Hybrid Cloud can also combine IaaS, PaaS and SaaS environments.
There are several ways to deploy HybridCloud, for example:
- using different Cloud providers.
- by relying on a single supplier offering these 2 models.
- by owning your own Private Cloud and subscribing to a Hybrid Cloud provider.
In a nutshell, the Hybrid Cloud combines the virtually unlimited, ever-evolving power of the Public Cloud with the flexibility and agility of the Private Cloud.
1# The information system and its legacy
The average lifespan of an application is estimated at around 15 years. This means that many companies have "legacy" information systems: this is the first factor that will impose the hybrid cloud.
While an agile player can offer to integrate specific infrastructures (mainFrame, appliances, robots, tape libraries, etc.) into its datacenters via engineering or technological partnerships, a public Cloud will be totally unable to do so. Hybrid solutions will enable you to benefit from the advantages of both Clouds.
2# Interconnection and latency
Where IT usage is distributed across numerous sites via private networks, this IT can be centralized in one or more datacenters, depending on the architecture chosen. In this case, the Private Cloud can be integrated into customers' extended private networks. This is not always possible with public clouds.
A Hybrid Cloud approach can be very interesting: The private cloud will manage the collection of the various LAN/WAN networks and the links to the public cloud. This will smooth the transition to the Public Cloud.
3# Optimizing budgets
Although steadily growing, Public Cloud offers have not yet found all the optimizations needed to guarantee the best prices for all services. For example, a demanding database can lead to hundreds of euros of daily billing on a Public Cloud, whereas with a Private Cloud, it's possible to obtain the expected SLA with a much more controlled budget. A hybrid environment will once again enable you to consume services where they are most optimized.
4# Data security and localization
Lack of control and vision over data security and location is still the main obstacle to public cloud computing. However, not all services used by a company require the same level of security. With a hybrid approach, we use the Public Cloud for services with a lower level of confidentiality (test platforms, new services, encrypted data, etc.), while retaining the more stringent security constraints of the Private Cloud (ERP, business applications, intellectual property, etc.).
5# Overflow to a public cloud
Some businesses experience occasional peaks in workload. On Private Cloud environments, it can be difficult to absorb load peaks. To provide elasticity and additional resources in the event of an activity peak, using the Public Cloud is a good solution for absorbing this load quickly and cost-effectively.
Today, the hybrid cloud is the intermediate step, a sort of gateway to the progression of public cloud services.
So, what will your Cloud be like?
