3 Crucial Factors To Consider When Formulating A Hybrid Cloud Strategy

SureSkills Consultant Cian O'Callaghan explains how a hybrid cloud solution has become an integral part of many organisations’ IT strategy but designing one to fit your company’s requirements will be key to its’ success.....  

2008 was the year the IT industry first began discussing the hybrid cloud computing model, a time which coincided with the beginning of the economic meltdown on these shores. Seven years later the positive news is the economy appears to be firmly on an upward curve and businesses are more confident about planning for their future, investing in new systems or upgrading those that have exceeded their shelf life. This increasing focus on the long-term, of course, includes planning for the next generation of ICT and in the intervening time period, a hybrid cloud strategy has become an integral part of many organisations. 

A 2014 State of the Cloud Report * showed that 74% of organisations in the US have a multi-cloud strategy and you could be sure that assessing or planning for adoption of the hybrid model is on the agenda for a majority of Irish companies too. 

For many Irish firms, hybrid may be an integral part of their IT strategy or it could simply be something that has incrementally appeared on their IT landscape. However it got here, it’s not a pet project for IT hipsters but a real option that can satisfy the enduring desire for cost-effectiveness of the money-men while alleviating fears of IT decision makers that any mission-critical applications and data will not be exposed to third-party vulnerabilities. 

Compliance issues and security requirements dictate that not all IT resources can be moved to the public cloud; however, combining what your organisation considers suitable for the public cloud – for example, email and operational systems such as HR – while retaining close control of those mission-critical apps and sensitive data seems like the perfect solution. And if your company can achieve the right balance, it can be. 

The scalability of the hybrid model makes it the perfect overflow resource which can be used seamlessly when required; you only pay for the extra capacity when it’s actually being used. So there’s little ‘wastage’ of resources lying idle. 

However, there are a number of factors to consider before you decide on the hybrid strategy for your company. Along with adopting your cloud solution in stages and speaking with contacts in other similar-sized companies in your industry who are further down the road in implementing their hybrid model for advice, there are three areas to be analysed before making a decision. 

It is so obvious it barely needs to be said but your first step should be to assess your company’s needs; what cost savings can be achieved by moving certain tasks to service providers? How much time could you save by moving applications and data storage to the cloud and what could your staff achieve by being able to concentrate on other projects? Do we need external cloud consultants to help us formulate our strategy? Do we want to build our own private cloud or lease space from providers such as AWS, Microsoft or VMWare? 

Second is to categorise your data and applications. Regulatory and compliance laws must be considered here while you also need to decide what is too utterly essential to your business to not have it under your direct, close control. Simply put, what needs to stay where it is? This will inform you as to what mix of the public and private your hybrid model you can have. 

The third area is the importance of choosing the right vendor. There is no one-size-fits-all, off-the-shelf hybrid solution that will apply to all companies (if only it were so easy) so finding the right vendor with the track record of helping similar-sized businesses and/or ones in your industry will be key to your success. 

Finding a vendor who will work collaboratively with your company and can help you build the most appropriate one to match your needs is crucial and to this end SureSkills is hosting an event “An Independent Look at the Clouds” where SureSkills SME’s and industry experts will give an independent overview of the Cloud offerings from their three top partners; AWS, VMware and Microsoft. 

The economy is back on track and looks set to grow for the foreseeable future; make sure you have the right hybrid cloud solution in place to capitalise on this opportunity. 

To learn more about what hybrid cloud best suits your needs contact one of our consultants today on 01 240 2287 or email info@sureskills.com.