What is Hybrid Cloud?
A hybrid cloud combines on-premises, private, and public cloud services (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure) with orchestration to enable flexible workload transitions, consolidated IT resources, rapid scaling, unified management, and enhanced security tailored to an organization's specific needs, budget, infrastructure, and compliance requirements.
Hybrid cloud uses a combination of two or more clouds, including on-premises, private cloud, and third-party public cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, or Microsoft Azure, with orchestration between the public and private cloud platforms.
Hybrid clouds enable workloads to transition between private and public clouds as organizations’ computing needs and costs change. This flexibility provides companies with more options for data deployment and resource management.
Every hybrid cloud should:
- Consolidate IT resources
- Scale and provision new resources quickly
- Connect multiple computers through a network
- Enable the transition of workloads between environments
- Incorporate a unified management tool
- Orchestrate processes with automation
Building a hybrid cloud environment is unique for every company, as there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The organization of cloud resources and the balance between private and public clouds depend on each company's needs and priorities. Factors to consider include IT budget, the strength of internet infrastructure, regulatory compliance requirements, and the ability to accommodate applications that cannot be easily migrated to the cloud or run on-premises.
Deploying a hybrid cloud environment is a good option for companies seeking to ensure data privacy and security while maintaining the ability to respond quickly to market changes. A well-designed, integrated, and managed hybrid cloud can be as secure as traditional on-premises IT infrastructure. While there are unique hybrid cloud security challenges—such as data migration, increased complexity, and a larger attack surface—having multiple environments can help protect against security risks. Organizations can decide where to place sensitive data and standardize redundant cloud storage to support disaster recovery efforts.
Many vendors provide hybrid cloud solutions. Public cloud operators like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Rackspace offer software (sometimes through third parties) to facilitate hybrid cloud deployment. For example:
- AWS Outposts provides the same AWS hardware infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools for building and running applications both on-premises and in the cloud.
- Microsoft Azure Stack allows companies to run Azure applications from the public Azure cloud while using data hosted on-premises.
- IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat in 2018 was seen as a move toward hybrid cloud, as companies integrate cloud resources to replace or supplement on-premises tools.
- Fujitsu Hybrid Cloud Services combines Fujitsu’s private cloud services with Microsoft Azure.
- NTT offers hybrid cloud solutions designed to help companies comply with regulations such as HIPAA, FISMA, and PCI DSS.