Did you think that soon everything would be operating completely in the public cloud? Apparently not, according to a study by IDC. Many organisations are now even going in the opposite direction and moving partly from the public cloud to the private cloud, a local cloud provider or on-premises. Therefore, in practice more and more companies are opting for the hybrid cloud, which offers all possible combinations.
While at first, and for a long time, there were fears about having company data located externally in the cloud, many now seem to think that eventually everything will be in the public cloud. Nothing could be further from the truth. IDC recently published a study that shows that 80% of the IT managers surveyed worldwide have moved certain applications or data over the past year from a public cloud back to an on-premises infrastructure or to a private cloud. The study also reveals that half of the organisations plan to do this in the next two years. Why?
These are the main reasons:
Take the lead with Hybrid Cloud
Want to know more about a hybrid cloud environment and how you can deploy this as an engine for innovation?
Download eBook1. Security
In the public cloud you have little or no control over how your data are protected. And what if it goes wrong – who can you turn to and where are the servers exactly? The public clouds of giants such as Amazon and Microsoft remain an attractive option because of their availability and flexibility, but for tailor-made security procedures for certain applications you may be better served by a local cloud provider. Not surprisingly, many organisations prefer to keep their most sensitive or business-critical data close at hand by placing them in a private cloud or in an on-premises infrastructure, where it is possible to draw up the security procedures themselves. Also in the context of the GDPR, it is very important that your organisation determines how personal data are stored, so that you are in compliance with regulation.
2. The price tag
The public cloud is well suited to absorbing sudden peak loads, but for most organisations the vast majority of IT requirements (workloads) can be accurately predicted. For this use case it would be better to work with a private cloud or on-premises solution. Combining this solution with a good management system enables you to get the most out of your IT facilities, resulting in a more attractive price tag than if you were to place everything in the public cloud. If you opt for a combination of public cloud, private cloud and on-premises systems, you will get a hybrid cloud that combines the benefits of each approach. Also in a hybrid environment, it is important to ensure efficient central management at software level, so that you derive maximum benefit from your hybrid cloud.
3. Performance
If you work in the public cloud, then the performance is highly dependent on the underlying network. This uncertainty is sometimes unacceptable, especially when it comes to your critical applications which process a lot of data. To avoid this risk, organisations still often choose to keep certain applications in-house, so that they maintain control of the speed and availability.
4. Control
Where and how are your data stored in the public cloud? If you want more control over the location and the way in which certain data are stored, then it is better not to opt for the public cloud. Instead, you store them on systems operated locally or you go for a private cloud with a local cloud partner who has their own datacenter. After all, this gives you the guarantee that the data will be physically stored at a known location, in the way that you want. And if a problem arises, you know exactly where the servers are and who you can turn to.
More and more companies come to realise that a hybrid cloud environment makes their company more flexible and cost-effective. Moreover, with hybrid cloud you are laying the perfect foundation for incorporating innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). Not only can your local cloud provider help you to set up such a hybrid cloud environment, but also manage all associated services.
*This post was originally posted by Filip Goos, CEO Cheops, on LinkedIn, 24 September 2018
Take the lead with Hybrid Cloud
Want to know more about a hybrid cloud environment and how you can deploy this as an engine for innovation?