The Hybrid Cloud: Pros & Cons to Consider Before Your Move

While nearly 80% of businesses will utilize some form of cloud computing by 2020 according to Inc.com, many are still scrambling to understand which applications, infrastructure and data in their core business to deploy to the cloud, and which make more sense to keep “on premise.” Furthermore, figuring out the optimal mix of onsite versus public cloud computing that will best meet a business’ needs is an ongoing challenge. This is especially true for businesses that have privacy, security and regulatory concerns that may preclude a public cloud migration – ones that fear increased risk of data breaches, regulatory restrictions or potential interruption of critical services due to internet connectivity glitches.

So what should be the key considerations for small- to medium-sized businesses that are attracted to the well-published benefits of cloud – such as cost, scale, convenience and reliability – when evaluating the hybrid cloud approach? To answer this question, let’s do a quick review of what hybrid cloud is, in case you’re not familiar.

Hybrid Cloud 101

Much like it sounds, hybrid cloud is a cloud computing infrastructure that utilizes two distinct types of cloud – usually private and public – that enable a linking and exchange of data and applications. A good example of a hybrid application could be a healthcare marketing research company that leverages the instant scale and compute power of a public cloud like Amazon Web Services (AWS) to run business analytics on patient data for an insurance company, which is usually hosted privately onsite – hence the “hybrid” of public and private platforms working together. This can be a thing of beauty since the research company only has to pay for the resources in an on-demand format, rather than building the massive infrastructure to host the same.

So, hybrid cloud sounds like the way to go, right? Not necessarily. There are pros and cons to hybrid, and businesses need to carefully evaluate both and consider partnering with third-party experts – such as managed cloud and managed security experts – to avoid known pitfalls. Let’s review some pros and cons of the hybrid model as a primer.

The Pros of Going Hybrid

• Cost savings. The research company referenced earlier in this article is a definite beneficiary of hybrid cloud because it can instantly call upon the massive compute power of AWS to conduct market research and set up auto-scaling to meet its growing needs. Another benefit could potentially be the access to data backups of the same company’s data – encrypted at rest and in motion – that can help the firm meet its compliance and disaster recovery business needs.
• The on-premise infrastructure part of hybrid cloud reduces the potential downtime related to cloud communications failures due to internet or other communications glitches. For example, if construction cuts a fiber line, on-premise applications and data, such as QuickBooks, would likely still be available.
• Greater workforce mobility. Organizations with a very nomophobic workforce, which needs constant access to applications and data at their fingertips, can leverage public cloud in times of heavy usage with fewer outages and less downtime.

Cons of Hybrid Cloud (and Possible Gotchas)

• The complexity of “hybrid IT.” Often, businesses have a learning curve and limited in-house resources when it comes to Amazon and Microsoft public cloud. Many businesses, therefore, experience decreased visibility and knowledge of the performance of workforce applications, such as compute and storage, for example. This can lead to C-suite sticker shock and cost inefficiency if cloud instances and optimization are not managed properly. After all, moving infrastructure to the cloud is supposed to save money, right?
• Security and compliance. Data moving from an onsite private cloud to public resources can be targeted and hacked by cyber criminals. Additionally, data privacy and regulatory violations can impact careless business owners with significant fines. Following industry best practices, like the encryption of data at rest, along with the implementation of cloud-based security monitoring through a skilled, managed security services provider can help to remediate risks. Once these best practices are implemented, the business can enjoy the convenience and competitive advantage of a hybrid deployment.
• Compatibility. Companies can experience major challenges when it comes to running on the different technology stacks of public and private cloud. Simply put, a private cloud application managed and hosted onsite may conflict with the stacks of public cloud. Will your team have to learn a completely new set of tools to manage data in the cloud versus onsite? Will they have those skills or need to get certified?

While there are many advantages to leveraging cloud and hybrid cloud deployments, smart executives, IT managers and business owners must carefully consider the pros and cons of each – as with any make/buy decision – before diving into their deployment. Consulting with experts in cloud data, security and application hosting is also a highly recommended first step, and pushing your technology partners for a “test and verify,” performance-first approach can’t hurt.

Michael Flavin is Director of IT Sales for SaalexIT. He can be reached at michael.flavin@saalexit.com.