We live in a world of compromise where it is difficult to make absolute commitments to a paradigm when there are significant tradeoffs associated with each choice. How do we respond? One option is to select composite – or “hybrid” – solutions made up of different elements that together soften the blow of the tradeoffs tied to each individual choice. Many people purchase hybrid cars because they want to reduce their use of fossil fuels but still want to fall back on gasoline for long distances. You’ve probably had wine made from hybrid grapes that are grown in a place that wouldn’t typically accommodate traditional ones. And if you’re like most organizations, you’ve answered “yes” on recent surveys that ask whether you have linked your public and private infrastructure as a hybrid cloud. But what does a hybrid cloud truly consist of? Why should you commit to one? Who’s doing it today?
What is a Hybrid Cloud?
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines a hybrid cloud as “a composition of two or more distinct cloud infrastructures (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities, but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability.” That’s a mouthful, but basically a hybrid cloud is about connecting computing environments. The NIST definition strictly defines a composition of cloud infrastructures, but in a reality pointed out by James Staten of Forrester, a hybrid cloud “means a cloud service connected to any other corporate resource.” If you are connecting private data center resources – whether orchestrated as a cloud or not – to the public cloud, you’ve established a hybrid computing scenario. These hybrid scenarios can be extremely sophisticated with deep bonds between environments, or, be relatively static point-to-point connections that serve a particular functional need. Have you connected a software-as-a-service travel application to your back-office billing system? Congratulations, you have the start of a hybrid computing environment.
Why Set Up a Hybrid Cloud?
To put it simply, a hybrid cloud makes sense when you have a significant existing investment in private infrastructure but also want to leverage what the public cloud offers. The hybrid cloud model is attractive to organizations that don’t want to shift their entire – often substantial – system portfolio to a new environment, and require a level of control not available in a public, multi-tenant cloud. However, most companies see that they can deliver new, meaningful services through the geographic breadth, self-service convenience, and elasticity that the public cloud promises.
Consider the challenges faced by a local, state, or federal government. A hybrid model satisfies many of the regulatory requirements faced by their IT departments. GCN described why hybrid cloud is becoming “the new normal for CIOs.”
Businesses are not forced into a single solution — they can pick the best application for the job, regardless of delivery platform. Data can be located wherever regulatory or security requirements dictate. This is a key benefit of a hybrid model for government agencies who must manage sensitive and secure data while still remaining accessible.
It’s not simple to set up and maintain a legitimate hybrid cloud, but it’s a viable option for organizations who cannot fundamentally disrupt their internal IT while starting to take advantage of public cloud services.
Who is Deploying Hybrid Clouds?
Research firm Gartner says that “hybrid cloud computing is at the same place today that private cloud was three years ago” and that half of all enterprises will have hybrid clouds by 2017. InformationWeek recently ran a Hybrid Cloud survey and found that 80% of companies have either implemented or are planning for a private cloud. Of the 36% that are running private clouds already, nearly a third had hybrid systems that support workloads running in public or private infrastructure.
Public cloud adoption is exploding, but it’s impractical to think that established companies will completely abandon private infrastructure any time soon. Instead of denying the validity of private clouds, smart public cloud providers are offering capabilities and services to integrate these hybrid environments.
Be Prepared and Define Success!
A mature hybrid cloud has many moving parts and some unavoidable complexity. Establishing a meaningful hybrid cloud requires considerate planning across many dimensions. Thoroughly assess the security, networking, application integration, management, compatibility, portability, and skillset challenges that will arise as you plan, deploy, and maintain a hybrid cloud. Figure out what your goals are from this hybrid computing scenario, and make sure that target your plan to achieving them.
Ready to take the next step in your hybrid cloud journey? Join the CenturyLink Cloud blog as we assess -- and provide practical solutions – on the biggest challenges that you’ll face as you set up a hybrid cloud environment.
