All of us are aware of terms like on-premises and Cloud by now but there is a new term that is making the waves these days. That term is no other than Hybrid cloud.What is a Hybrid cloud?Why do we need to care about it? How does it benefit us? Let’s discuss in detail.
What is Hybrid Cloud?
The easiest way to answer this question is by adding on-premises + cloud which is equal to Hybrid cloud. In other words, if you have on-premises servers for some applications and Cloud servers for other applications then that means you have a Hybrid setup. Each model has their advantages and disadvantages however in recent years the Hybrid Cloud model has emerged as a front runner, offering the best of all worlds for many enterprises.
Understanding the Options:
1. On-Premises Infrastructure
This is the traditional model of deployment where customers get their hardware, software, networking components and install them on premises. This model gives the user complete control over data and infrastructure but also requires substantial upfront investments (aka CAPEX), maintenance costs and skilled personnel.
2. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is already a known quantity by now. Majority of the workloads have already been pushed to cloud servers and by now people are also aware of the costs that are associated with a Cloud based deployment. But this model all has added benefits which means clients get agility, cost- effectiveness, and scalability without the burden of managing physical infrastructure. The most common public cloud providers are AWS, Azure, GCP.
3. Hybrid Cloud
In this model the customer uses both of the models that we have discussed previously i.e. on-premises and Cloud Computing. Why do we call it the best of all worlds? It is because you have flexibility of getting to reap the benefits of both on-premises and cloud models. You choose on-premises for some workloads and you choose cloud for the rest of the workloads and you get the advantages of both the models in the Hybrid scenario.
Comparing the Models
Now that we discuss what they are, let's do a quick comparison between these:
Cost
In terms of on-premises model there is a significant upfront investment aka CAPEX to acquire software licenses, start of the art hardware, significant man hours installing, deploying and implanting the solutions. You also must spend resources maintaining and supporting the solutions.Cloud model supports the pay as you go and takes care of all the management of the hardware. All you need to do is to make sure your applications and the operating system is maintained which is pretty easy to do. In the Hybrid model you pay a partial amount for the hardware you deploy in your premises while you pay the CSP for the workloads that are deployed in the cloud.
Scalability and Flexibility
In terms of on-premises there is the least amount of scalability and flexibility as if the traffic overloads your infra you might have to invest more to beef up your servers. Cloud computing offers scalability, high availability and reliability but some workloads may require consistent performance or have government compliances that necessitate on-premises deployment. Hybrid model gives us the flexibility of hosting critical data and components on-premises while migrating the rest of the workload to the cloud.
Security and Compliance
On-premise model gives us complete control over security measures and data governance, making it suitable for highly regulated industries or organizations with stringent compliance requirements. Big hyper scalars offering cloud computing invest heavily in data sovereignty and privacy but cannot overcome government laws and other compliances. Hybrid cloud comes out on top again as you can comply with laws by keeping critical workloads on-premises while taking advantage of the cloud’s robust security features by pushing the rest of the workloads to the cloud.
This is where Cocktail Cloud comes in. We have made a turnkey platform based on real feedback from developers that addresses all the real pain points of application development.
The common feedback we got was developers were looking for a platform that is not stuck with a single vendor, gives them flexibility to work on any tech stack (nothing proprietary), built on an open platform and can be customized when the need arises.
Cocktail cloud offers the best of all the worlds: it can be used with Cloud, on-premises and Hybrid solutions. So you can take advantage by keeping your sensitive workloads on-premises and push the rest to the cloud while managing both of the environments from a single pane of glass. Let’s see other benefits that you can gain while using Cocktail Cloud:
Why Hybrid Cloud is the Best of All Worlds
- Optimized Performance: Hybrid cloud allows us to optimize performance by taking advantage of on-premises and cloud. So you can pick and choose the workloads that need scalability and consistent performance to cloud while for the critical and sensitive loads you can choose the on-premises model.
- Enhanced Security: By keeping sensitive data on-premises, businesses can maintain greater control over security measures and compliance requirements. Meanwhile, the cloud offers advanced security features, such as encryption, identity management, and threat detection, to protect non-sensitive workloads.
- Scalability and Cost Efficiency: Hybrid cloud enables businesses to scale resources dynamically to meet fluctuating demand while minimizing costs. By leveraging existing on-premises infrastructure for critical workloads and utilizing the cloud for additional capacity, businesses can achieve optimal cost-efficiency.
- Flexibility and Agility: Hybrid cloud provides the flexibility to adapt to changing business needs and technology trends. Businesses can seamlessly migrate workloads between on-premises and cloud environments based on performance, security, or cost considerations.
And you get all these benefits while paying less than other market competitors like Red Hat Openshift, VMware Tanzu or Suse Rancher and in some cases you save more than 50%.
To conclude, we have discussed the benefits and drawbacks of all the models and more often than not Hybrid model comes out on top by offering a compelling solution for organizations that are seeking the best of on-premises and cloud computing. By combining the control and security of on-premises infrastructure with the scalability and flexibility of the cloud, hybrid cloud enables businesses to optimize performance, enhance security, and achieve cost efficiency in today's dynamic IT landscape. As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation, we think the hybrid cloud is going to remain a popular choice for modern enterprises looking for flexibility and competitive advantage.
