As the popularity of cloud computing grows, so do the range of cloud solutions available to you. What’s known as a ‘hybrid’ approach is becoming more and more prominent, and for good reason: it can deliver measurable cost savings, flexibility, agility and scalability at speed. It’s become so popular that the Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report found that around 80 percent of enterprises already have a hybrid cloud strategy.
So, why are hybrid cloud solutions so widespread? When implemented correctly they offer your business the best of both the private and public cloud. Let’s take a look at a quick definition, then break down how a hybrid solution could be the answer to balancing your books.
What is a hybrid cloud?
A hybrid cloud is composed of a combination of private (on-premise infrastructure) and public clouds. It allows businesses to implement a hybrid strategy. This involves some workloads being managed in the public cloud, and sensitive data and business-critical applications being processed in a secure private cloud. Hybrid solutions are designed to meet client needs and/or regulatory requirements.
How can a hybrid cloud solution save your business money?
The hybrid cloud approach allows you to easily scale your computing resources, as well as reduce costs and make local resources available for your company to store more sensitive data or applications. Here’s how it can save you money:
Less upfront investment
Hybrid clouds are scalable without excessive upfront investment. You can manage workloads and resources across multiple cloud instances or vendor services. This enables your business to access virtually unlimited capacity in the public cloud in the event you experience a sudden surge in your computing needs. That means you won’t need to invest in large-scale in-house servers to increase capacity for temporary peaks in demand.
Reduction of on-prem server maintenance
A hybrid approach also saves businesses money when it comes to general hardware maintenance. Implementing a combination of public and private cloud versus 100 percent private means you’ll have less hardware to manage and update. Therefore, reducing the costs you pay on utilities and facilities-related overheads, security and risk management and IT staff labour.
Better data loss protection
Data backup and disaster recovery are other key areas where the hybrid cloud provides potential cost savings. There is no single point of failure because you store your organisation’s data in multiple locations. As a result, it provides a cheaper — and more reliable — alternative to completely private IT infrastructure.
Long-term savings
Hybrid cloud solutions provide businesses with long-term savings by reducing the need to purchase preemptive storage capacity. Instead, implementing public offerings that supply consumption-based payment models as well as competitive pricing from multiple providers.
A step in the modern direction
A shift to hybrid can support your digital transformation strategy, fuel growth and boost innovation whilst lowering costs. It’s a valuable option when it comes to modernising your IT infrastructure and building business readiness for solutions like Windows Virtual Desktop.
For any IT transition to be successful, CIOs, managers and business owners need to plan carefully. Your team has to account for the best practices unique to hybrid cloud solutions — which is where we come in. Our experts can help guide your transformation strategy with our cloud design service, which uses your business goals and KPIs as a guide. Let’s work together and figure out what’s right for your company. Find out more about our cloud services here.
Share
