The cloud technology has already sky-rocketed and irrespective of what the critics say, cloud is definitely the future of computing. As they say, “the only thing constant is change,” in cloud computing, the change is already evident. The new trend is hybrid cloud. While some companies are still struggling with the decision to transfer their vital information to cloud-based servers, other have embraced cloud and are now willing to go hybrid.
An Overview
Hybrid cloud refers to a trend where companies make use of more than one cloud (public or private) deployment model. This allows companies the flexibility that they need to perform versatile tasks that it has undertaken or to complete variety of contracts it is engaged in. Still not sure about, contact your service provider for more details. For example, if you are using Amazon web services (AWS), then an AWS consulting services partner can provide more clarity on how hybrid cloud can enhance your business.
The Proof
The Hewlett Packard Enterprise commissioned Forrester to undertake a research on hybrid cloud trends worldwide. The results in the published white paper— The Proliferation of Hybrid Cloud were exciting. The participants in the research included high-level executives from companies where employee strength was more than 4000. The companies operated in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. The research reveals that 56% of respondents were hybrid cloud users. This shows that companies are already inclined toward the hybrid cloud trend because of the benefits it brings. It is worth investing in because it is capable of bringing ease to the business operations and also lend the required flexibility.
The Benefits
There can be various reason behind companies opting for multiple cloud technologies and these reasons depend on your area of operation, nature of business, etc. But, one thing is for sure that all companies opt for solutions that are beneficial either in short-term or long run. The same is what hybrid cloud promise. Let’s look at some of its benefits.
- It ensures that your business is never down because of data loss or access issues.
- It allows use of different innovative strategies on variety of data rather than being subjected to the same tools.
- It is simply more scalable than IT infrastructure and traditional cloud environments.
- It is a quick connect mechanism to the market. It means faster speed, efficiency, etc.
The Providers
There are many prominent companies that offer Hybrid cloud services. If you are convinced with what Hybrid cloud offers, then you can choose the service-provider who best matches your need. The major market players are Microsoft, Amazon, VMware, HP, etc. It is also fairly easy to find third parties that offer consulting services. You can contact companies that offer Microsoft or AWS consulting services, to name a few.
The Challenges
Many a times, a company does research and is well-aware of the solution that it wants to adopt but in such cases the company often undermines the effort required to implement and reap benefits from such implementation. In such instances the cost involved in adopting a strategy is generally high but when it comes to investing in implementation, the companies become skeptical.
Another major challenge is that with flexibility comes complexity. Cloud in itself is a comparatively new arena for businesses and no matter how proficient organizations are, it is difficult to remain up-to-date with all the new advances that are coming up. Hybrid cloud brings about the innovation and the ability to be molded according to the requirement but this means that organizations have to be agile and handle different clouds in the same way as it was handling one. This poses as a serious challenge for organizations who are already spending considerable amount of money on subscription and migration efforts, A good way of dealing with all the challenges is to have a dedicated team that looks after the company’s cloud initiative and this has to be a team that is separate from the IT team that is already looking after the internal aspects. If having an in-house team is a costly affair, then hiring an external consultant can really save a lot of effort and pain. The consultant can either act as a mentor by only overseeing the way things are done or be involved like a team member to execute decisions.
The Conclusion
The existing inclination of companies toward hybrid cloud suggests that the trend is booming but to actually understand the success or failure, we have to wait to see what new technology comes up to ease the routine work or to enhance the company’s initiatives. Cloud data services has already established itself as a reliable way of storing data and is now being fully used for launching mission-critical processes by companies. Let us know what you think is the future of hybrid cloud in the comment section.
James Warner is working as senior web developer at NEX Softsys, a web, mobile application & AWS consulting services in USA & India. Writes about Emergency technology, Innovative quotes, Social Media News and online marketing.
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