Hidden among the hundreds of “Top 10 Tech Predictions of 2012” you’ll probably find mention of what’s called
the hybrid cloud. If it’s receiving so much hype, we should understand what it is, and what, if any, benefit it offers.
One technology fortune-teller states,
“…Until now cloud computing has been caught between public cloud and private cloud adoption. Public cloud means accessing your firm’s data hosted in data centres via web apps like Salesforce.com or Google Docs, while private cloud means you access your data which is still stored within your premises via cloud interfaces.
Prevailing trends such as desktop virtualisation and greater adoption of remote working policies in firms will mean firms will want the best of both worlds – the flexibility of public cloud and the security of private cloud. Hence the arrival of hybrid cloud services in a big way in 2012.” – John Kennedy, Editor,
Siliconrepublic.com
An article at
CRN calls 2012 “’The Year of the Cloud’…for real this time.” At the top of a list of cloud predictions, he points out the
hybrid model of cloud computing. "In 2012, hybrid clouds will give users the best of both worlds as customers want the security of some resources remaining on-premise while realizing the elasticity of public cloud infrastructure.”
And well, not to say “I told you so,” but, in essence, we did. Claris has been deploying a “hybrid cloud” as its chief product offering for over six years. For us at Claris, 2006 was the year of the hybrid cloud, and every year since then it’s just been getting more reliable and secure. Granted, some readers may still be confused about the whole public/private/hybrid cloud talk. Referencing an older blog, “
What is a hybrid cloud?” here are three reasons businesses choose to use a “hybrid cloud”:
· Redundancy and reliability –With the traditional cloud, an end user loses all network functions in the event of your computer support company’s service outage. It’s the same as if your internet goes down – you’re dead in the water. The hybrid cloud mitigates this risk since the onsite device will maintain a majority of the business’s IT functions during a service provider’s outage.
· High bandwidth is not readily available – We’re approaching a time when gigabit Ethernet connections will be available in every home and office building. But today, especially in rural communities and smaller markets, connection speeds are the biggest limiting factor in cloud implementations. The hybrid cloud eliminates bandwidth limitations with the onsite device.
· No changes from your current IT setup – Today’s users aren’t used to interfacing with their applications in a true cloud solution; a total redesign of the user experience can be very intrusive to the user, or having a new way for users to get to their applications can be a disruptive change. Hybrid cloud computing largely maintains the user experience.
What questions do you have about a hybrid cloud in your business?