Guest post by Aventis Systems

Cloud computing is increasing in popularity as business users have become more comfortable with cloud capabilities. According to a recent VMware report, some 15% of workloads currently reside in the public cloud, and 50% are projected to be running in the public cloud by 2030.

Some business customers will move completely to the public cloud, drawn by its ability to help them respond to changing business needs, align costs and stay on the cutting edge of innovation. But a complete move isn’t the best option for all customers. Some processes still simply run more efficiently and securely on on-premise hardware.

For many businesses, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Ultimately, using a mix of public clouds and private infrastructures is the best way for many companies to make the most of their resources while optimizing performance and productivity.

What Is a Hybrid Cloud?
A hybrid cloud is a combination of a private cloud platform designed for use by a specific organization and a public cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud. These public clouds are shared by customers all over the world and are a cheaper alternative to buying physical servers.

Though the public and private cloud platforms operate independently from one another, they can communicate over an encrypted connection.

A hybrid approach enables data and applications to move between the public and private infrastructures. These are independent platforms, so businesses can store protected data on the private cloud while still leveraging applications that rely on that protected data on the public cloud.

In other words, your sensitive data stays out of the public cloud and on the private platform. The challenge is integrating the different public and private clouds and technologies in a way that is seamless for business users.

Here are some of the top benefits of a hybrid cloud approach, according to the experts at Aventis Systems:

1. Workload Flexibility
With hybrid cloud technology, your IT team has the flexibility to match resources with the infrastructure that best serves the needs of your business.

For example, an integrated hybrid cloud approach with VMware Cloud on AWS enables you to decide where to most effectively run workloads based on cost, risk and changing business needs. With the flexibility to move workloads onsite or offsite as needed, IT is able to better serve the business as a whole.

The ability for organizations to easily transition applications without having to re-platform them — along with the ability to effortlessly access and leverage native cloud services — enables businesses to create a flexible infrastructure in a constantly evolving IT landscape. When new technology becomes available or new trends emerge, businesses are agile enough to take advantage of them quickly.

2. Consistency and Scalability
VMware Cloud on AWS enables companies to leverage operational consistency, along with scalability, on one streamlined platform. By maintaining security and networking policies, along with consistent resource utilization both on- and off-premise, businesses can benefit most from a hybrid infrastructure.

Customers can strategically leverage and allocate company resources to get the most out of system functionality, while becoming better positioned for growth. As your business and capacity needs grow, a hybrid cloud infrastructure offers an easy way to scale to fit these complex needs.

3. Improved Security
Maintaining secure customer transaction data and personal information with a hybrid cloud infrastructure also offers a major benefit over an exclusively public platform. The hybrid approach enables specified servers to be isolated from specific security threats by allowing devices to be configured to communicate with them on a private network.

Where some compliance requirements prevent businesses from running payments in the cloud, for example, a hybrid cloud platform allows you to house secure customer data on a dedicated server, while maintaining the flexibility and convenience of online transactions.

4. Maximized Skillsets and Cost Optimization
Not only are hybrid clouds less expensive to manage, with VMware Cloud on AWS, business customers can also reap the benefits of utilizing their existing IT investments.

Hybrid cloud offerings integrate with your existing IT and use many of the same tools as those used on-premise. You can leverage the resources you already have without having to adopt new tools or acquire new hardware.

Additionally, an integrated hybrid cloud approach enables customers to better align their costs to business needs. Upfront costs can be balanced with recurring expenses, depending on the requirements.

5. Innovation
With a hybrid cloud approach, your business will have access to all of the resources on the public cloud without the burden of big upfront investments. With access to all the newest technologies and innovations, you can stay on the forefront of the latest capabilities.

As businesses become more comfortable and reliant on cloud capabilities, more and more companies will look for the right mix of public cloud and on-premise infrastructure models to increase efficiency and performance.

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