The cloud can bring numerous benefits to a business. Public cloud offerings can reduce technology costs, provide scalability and flexibility to a business’ computing infrastructure, promote collaboration, protect your business from data loss, and much, much more. What it cannot do, however, is guarantee the control some organizations wish to have over their technology infrastructure. Some businesses prioritize that control, while others are bound by industry and government-induced regulations. For those businesses, there is the hybrid cloud.

The hybrid cloud is a cloud interface that combines the cost-effective solutions from the public cloud with the control and organizational effectiveness of a private cloud. With processing or applications working in each environment, there needs to be some coordination that provides the business’ resources the ability to integrate the two systems. Let’s take a look at the basics of a hybrid cloud strategy.

Public + Private = Hybrid

Some businesses can get away using public cloud resources for their whole IT strategy. Being able to trust cloud services vendors with your business’ most sensitive information is not easy. That’s why many businesses keep that data in onsite servers. If a company has a remote workforce--and, according to the latest numbers, nearly 56 percent of companies allow for some semblance of remote work--the LAN network isn’t going to cut it.

For this reason, the private cloud was born. The private cloud, which is a centralized computing environment that can be accessed remotely, was able to significantly speed up business, but the capital costs were substantial. To reduce capital costs, public cloud services were retained. Hybrid cloud computing was born. Businesses can get the cost reduction found with public cloud services, while also getting the control and security that comes with onsite-hosted, remotely accessible IT solutions. Companies now could do more with less; and, their workers could do it from wherever they are, delivering value all the way around.

How Does It Work?

Since a company’s hybrid cloud isn’t either a public cloud or a private cloud, in order for them to work in concert, there needs to be some coordination. In hybrid cloud computing, an orchestration layer enables users to easily move data and applications in, over, and around a hybrid cloud interface.

What Are the Benefits?

We talked a little about cost reduction, but more specifically it isn’t that at all. It is more of a cost redistribution. In fact, over time, you should expect to pay the same for a private cloud as you would a public cloud service. The effect it has for your business isn’t any less noteworthy, however. Capital expenditures, especially significant outlays that come with new hardware, can vary quite a bit depending on many different factors. This variability is a problem for your IT budget. With a per user/per month solution you can quickly identify what your costs are and predict them months ahead of time. Since you take in new revenue, paying for public cloud resources is easier.

The private cloud’s benefits are easier to ascertain. Having control over sensitive data is always important, but when your customers and employees (and everyone else who trusts you with data) are at stake, it is essential that you have the control over that data. Since keeping this information, and often centrally-used applications that may have some of this data tied to them, out of the public cloud is prudent, the hybrid cloud interface effectively protects the data and applications you need protected, while still providing the access your organization needs.

Are you searching for a solution to your organization’s computing needs? Contact the professionals at 415 IT today at (415) 295-4898.