Damian Szewczyk
Hybrid infrastructure means combining the capabilities of a private and public cloud in order to get the best possible features. Entities that are concerned about formal requirements have nothing to worry about and at the same time are able to benefit from the cloud’s scalability and flexibility.
A characteristic element of hybrid infrastructure is the a possibility to use private and public cloud resources.
There are situations where one of the infrastructures performs better. A good example is an advertising campaign whose effect on the use of resources cannot be predicted. When maintaining all resources in a private cloud, it may turn out that the available resources are not sufficient, and thus it will fail to meet our expectations. Unfortunately, in many cases we will find out about it at the least opportune moment, i.e. when we start losing users or customers due to our unavailability. In a hybrid solution (obviously in a well-designed one), we are able to quickly transfer the load to scalable public cloud resources. Once the campaign is complete, we can easily scale the solution down and minimise the cost. Hybrid infrastructure takes away the restrictions, allowing us to migrate every element of our environment between the infrastructures.
Customers choosing a hybrid cloud list many reasons, but it can all be summed up by saying that it simply combines the best of both worlds.
Much better scalability. In the case of a private cloud, we do not have the ability to adjust the resources on demand. A hybrid solution allows you to add the right computing power and storage exactly when you need it.
Cost-price optimisation. For many companies, storing all data and processing it in a public cloud is too risky, while maintaining it on a private cloud is too expensive. Dividing the relevant functions between the two solutions enables both cost optimisation and maintaining the required security.
A hybrid solution is also a very good approach to building a Disaster Recovery process. If our critical processes are supported by applications and services that can run on both cloud solutions, then if one of them is unavailable, we can quickly move the workload to the part of the infrastructure that is still operational.
Many people still have concerns about using clouds, especially a public one. In their opinion, it’s not entirely secure because we’re moving our data to an unknown location. The customer cannot see, let alone touch, the hardware that makes up cloud server rooms. With a hybrid solution, this obstacle is easier to jump over. With some resources located on private infrastructures, the customer feels they have far greater control.
No, if you use public and private cloud services separately, you don’t take full advantage of what a hybrid cloud can offer. Only after you combine the two you gain their distinctive advantages – in the case of a private cloud, greater control and less uncertainty, and in the case of a public cloud, flexibility, scalability and lower maintenance costs. To call a solution a hybrid cloud, we must be able to use both infrastructures flexibly, only then we are able to draw the full benefits.
Now you know the characteristics of all the types of cloud computing. Can you choose the one that would be best for your business?
Don’t hesitate to share your opinion. I will be more than happy to answer, should you have any questions.
