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For many companies, a hybrid cloud infrastructure is the most ideal IT infrastructure. It is a balanced and high-quality combination of both an on-premises or private cloud infrastructure in combination with a public cloud. Would you like to discover if the same applies to your business? Then be sure to continue reading.
We don’t have a ready answer to this question. Whether it’s interesting for your company depends on your specific needs and expectations. In addition, cloud computing only adds value when applications and data are located in the right place. We will list some questions and indicators that can help you provide the insights you need:
Is your company capable of growing without limitations of your IT infrastructure?
In other words, does your IT infrastructure have enough capacity to scale for future growth, without a shortage of storage, capacity, or applications? If not, hybrid cloud provides the necessary flexibility to scale up and down when needed.
Have you already provided a backup plan in case of a defect, outage, or other technical issue?
With a hybrid cloud, you no longer need to worry about this. The mix of on-premises and the cloud ensures that you always have a professional backup of all your applications and data.
Can your company handle strong workload fluctuations or large workloads anytime you need it?
If not, a hybrid cloud infrastructure can provide relief. In a hybrid cloud environment, a public cloud is able to assist when needed and provide you with additional capacity and storage.
Do you want to store your data locally or in a centralized location? And what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Hybrid cloud is a solution that combines both options. This way, you can take advantage of the benefits of both on-premises and the cloud.
How secure is your current IT infrastructure and its associated services?
What is the estimation of your company’s growth? What is the expected evolution of your business?
Do you have large files and large data volumes to process annually? A hybrid cloud allows you to handle this efficiently.
Do you want to provide employees with the opportunity to work efficiently on-site or remotely? Do you want to make your IT infrastructure accessible via the internet? In that case, it can be useful to place certain services in the cloud.
Does your company capture business-sensitive data?
Then you definitely have to take the location of the servers, data protection laws, etc. into account.
How is the scalability and competence of your own IT department? What about the workload within your IT team?
Is a hybrid cloud solution exactly what you’re looking for and do you want to start transitioning? If so, proper preparation is key. Consider which applications and data are suitable for the cloud and which are better left in in-house data centers. Take into account:
whether the app uses sensitive data (factors related to data privacy)
legal aspects, both within Belgium and European and international legislation on personal data, liability, etc.
technical factors
Some workloads are more appropriate for an on-premises IT infrastructure (e.g., print servers or active directories), while other applications benefit more from the flexibility of a cloud environment. Office applications or email services are often the first to move to the public cloud. Business-critical applications or applications that handle sensitive data are better suited for a private cloud or on-premises.
This process is an important phase in your preparation, as making the wrong choice can lead to:
loss of productivity
higher costs
poor performance
unnecessary complex integrations
An important principle, therefore, is to run applications and data on the platform where they perform best, considering factors such as speed, cost, feasibility, and more. In addition to analyzing your data and applications, consider the cloud services your company needs. You can choose between SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service), and IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service). Moreover, establishing a proper connection between your on-premises infrastructure and your cloud is essential for the efficient operation of your hybrid cloud solution. It is best to prepare all of this in a step-by-step plan with a clear timeline.
However, this entire process is not straightforward. It can be a good solution to enlist an experienced IT partner to guide your hybrid cloud story in the right direction. We are happy to help you with this and provide our expertise for an efficient and smooth transition! If you want to discuss your hybrid cloud journey, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Unlock the potential of hybrid cloud data storage and discover how hybrid cloud solutions optimize data security, accessibility, and efficiency for your business.
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