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Glossary

Hybrid cloud

A hybrid cloud allows you to move data and applications seamlessly between different environments, thus increasing flexibility and efficiency.

This article explains how this works and what advantages this cloud model offers companies.

What is a hybrid cloud?

A hybrid cloud is made up of a combination of public and private cloud services, which can also include on-premises infrastructure. This architecture allows companies to take advantage of the flexibility and scalability of the public cloud while simultaneously ensuring the control and security of their own IT resources.

Coordinated orchestration is essential to ensure the smooth flow of information between the various cloud services. This allows companies to gain the best of both worlds and make their IT infrastructure more efficient. Only such a flexible architecture enables companies to take advantage of various cloud models and optimally manage their IT resources. 

Key features of a hybrid cloud

It is precisely this characteristic of a mixed environment that creates decisive advantages for companies.

  • Combination of clouds: The integration of private and public cloud services enables companies to benefit from the advantages of both models. Private clouds offer security and control, while public clouds offer flexibility and scalability.

It is precisely this characteristic of a mixed environment that creates decisive advantages for companies.

  • Flexibility and scalability: Companies can scale their IT resources as required and react flexibly to changing requirements. This is especially useful in case of peak loads or unexpected events.
  • Security and control: By using a private cloud (e.g. on-premises in the local data center) , companies retain control over sensitive data and applications while benefiting from the advantages of the public cloud.

Advantages of a hybrid cloud architecture

Hybrid cloud models offer numerous advantages that make them an attractive solution for many companies. The most important advantages of the hybrid cloud can be summarized as follows:

  • Cost reduction: By using public cloud resources, companies can reduce their IT costs by only paying for the resources they actually use.
  • Agility: Companies can react quickly to changes in the market or in demand by flexibly adapting their IT resources.
  • Compliance: The hybrid cloud enables companies to comply with legal regulations and internal guidelines: Sensitive or business-critical data remains in the private cloud, and less critical data moves to the public cloud.

The hybrid cloud approach is now a common form of infrastructure. The hybrid cloud makes things a lot easier for companies, especially during transition and migration. Organizations and companies are often faced with large volumes of data that need to be divided up and migrated sensibly (public vs. private data).

easy archive – the hybrid archive

With easy archive, you retain flexibility: It makes no difference whether you opt for a cloud, on-premises or hybrid version. easy archive gives you back your freedom right down to the document level.

Use cases for hybrid clouds

The hybrid cloud model is used in various industries and scenarios:

  • Data processing: Companies can process large volumes of data in the public cloud and store sensitive data, such as contracts and other business-critical documents, in the private cloud.
  • Backup and disaster recovery: clouds provide a reliable solution for backup and disaster recovery by storing data securely in the private cloud while leveraging the scalability of the public cloud
  • Archiving: Modern archive solutions offer companies interesting utilities. Business-critical documents flow into on-premises hosted environments, and documents and data from less sensitive business processes flow into the public cloud, making them available to company employees at various locations, for example – turning a hybrid archive into a wonderful hub of knowledge.
  • Development and tests: Organizations can divide up the hybrid cloud for different purposes. For instance, they can use the private cloud as a development environment while staging takes place in the public cloud, with access granted only to authorized employees.

The hybrid cloud offers companies a flexible and efficient solution to make optimal use of their IT resources. By combining public and private cloud services, companies can maximize security and control as well as flexibility and scalability. With its numerous benefits and use cases, the hybrid cloud is a forward-looking model that supports companies in confidently meeting the business requirements and challenges of digital transformation.

Hybrid cloud FAQ

What is the opposite of cloud computing?

The opposite of cloud computing is on-premises computing. With on-premises computing, IT resources such as servers, storage and software are operated and managed locally in a company’s own data center or business premises. In contrast to cloud computing, where resources are provided by an external provider via the internet, companies retain complete control over their IT infrastructure with on-premises computing.

What are some examples of hybrid clouds?

  • Microsoft Azure Stack: Azure Stack enables companies to operate Azure services in their own data center. It offers a consistent platform for the development and provision of applications both in the public cloud and on-premises.
  • Google Anthos: Anthos is a hybrid and multi-cloud platform from Google that enables companies to develop, deploy and manage applications in a consistent environment, regardless of whether they are running on-premises or in the public cloud.
  • IBM Cloud Pak for Data: This solution offers an integrated data and AI platform based on Red Hat OpenShift. It enables companies to manage and scale data and AI workloads in a hybrid cloud environment.
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) Outposts: AWS Outposts brings AWS infrastructure, services and tools into a company’s own data center. It offers seamless integration with the AWS cloud and enables companies to run applications both on-premises and in the cloud.
  • VMware Cloud on AWS: This solution enables companies to seamlessly extend their VMware environments into the AWS cloud. It provides a consistent and scalable infrastructure for running applications in a hybrid cloud environment.
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