Traditionally, organizations spent a lot of effort and money on collecting and storing data. Hybrid cloud models feature simplified data management with different storage and access options for data that needs to meet privacy regulations and that which doesn’t.
It is simple to set up pay-as-you-go storage systems for non-critical data (which can be moved to cheap public cloud storage as and when it is archived or goes below a preset threshold of access frequency). At the same time, it is possible to create an isolated environment with limited compliance and maintenance expenses for regulated or critical data.
From a hardware perspective, hybrid cloud deployments reduce the need for expensive storage arrays typical to a private cloud with a tiered storage model, which improves both the cost efficiency and the speed of backups and disaster recovery. Simultaneously, compared to the public cloud, the hybrid model offers cost-saving storage features such as compression, deduplication, and thin allocation to a smaller or larger extent.
The IDC study referred to earlier also found savings of over 47% over a five-year period for a DR workload in a hybrid environment compared to currently popular setups on native public cloud.
Hybrid Cloud Deployment Goes Beyond Cost Savings
Clearly, the hybrid cloud adds numerous advantages to those of public or private models by themselves. That said, it’s important to get a correct and accurate cost/benefit analysis for each workload or scenario before going ahead with hybrid cloud deployment in any direction, whether from an on-premises data center to the cloud or one cloud to another.
With proper planning, however, it is possible for enterprises to move forward with deployment that empowers a number of lucrative hybrid cloud scenarios and use cases including:
- Big data processing via third-party computing resources
- Digital transformation of outdated legacy hardware
- Reliable disaster recovery as a service
- Cheaper and faster application development and testing
The benefits and inherent savings that come with migrating to a hybrid solution, and therefore future-proofing an infrastructure that might otherwise rely on slow and barely compatible legacy systems, makes the process an investment that many enterprises cannot afford to pass over.
Moreover, the right third-party platform can further reduce costs and strains exerted on a consumer company by hiding the complexity of infrastructure management behind a simplified control panel. This reduces the need for an organization to maintain or re-hire specialized IT teams for cloud installation or migration.
Moving to any form of cloud doesn’t simply lead to optimized spending. In fact, without proper planning, even organizations opting for hybrid cloud deployment could be in for a nasty shock when their monthly bill arrives. As Kaplan emphasized, “It’s not about cloud first; it’s about cloud smart. You can be put out of business really quickly if you don’t manage your consumption wisely.”