The Hybrid Cloud and How it Can Help Your Organization

Some people may not be aware that there is something called the hybrid cloud. We are here to explain everything you need to know.
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The Hybrid Cloud and How it Can Help Your Organization

In the IT world, a cloud isn’t the fluffy, white thing in the sky. It’s a virtual area where data is kept. However, some people may not be aware that there is something called the hybrid cloud. So what is it?

What is the Hybrid Cloud?

A hybrid cloud is when an organization has onsite, local servers and software. Along with remote servers in a data center or with a cloud provider like Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS). These two server locations work together to provide employees with what they need access to. The employees may not even know where the servers are located, just that they have what they need.

How Does the Hybrid Cloud Work?

Current technology comes with a built-in ability. To leverage locally-installed servers and remote servers and allow them to work as one. Here are some examples.
  1. An organization wants to add a domain controller for its active directory setup. Rather than having them both exist locally, they can spin up a brand-new instance in the cloud and tie them together. This gives them a low-cost option and doesn’t require a redundant Active Directory server setup.
  2. An organization might desire to offload some data from its local server. But may not be ready for their servers to be moved to the cloud. In this situation, they can subscribe to cloud storage. And move older storage that is infrequently accessed to the cloud and off the local server. This gives the company the opportunity to keep their storage. But not have to invest in hardware to expand local storage. Anyone can then access any files they need from the cloud. And will have no idea it isn’t on their local server.

Benefits and Drawbacks of the Hybrid Cloud

A significant benefit of the hybrid cloud is that it gives organizations the ability to immediately leverage technology that is less costly than replacing local hardware. It gives organizations the flexibility to grow in ways that may not have been possible a few years ago. Another benefit is availability. It is much less likely that there will be an outage on a cloud server. If a storm hits an organization’s area, and they lose power, they lose access to all the information on their server. This is especially relevant today when so many people are working from home. Being able to consistently access a cloud server is essential. The hybrid cloud’s biggest drawback is that there isn’t a lot of control over the cloud environment. When there is an issue, there is basically nothing to do but wait. On a local server, your technology team can at least attempt to fix the problem. Business owners in an office having a meeting about benefits of using hybrid cloud.

When You Should Use the Hybrid Cloud

There are many applications for the hybrid cloud because it is so flexible. Here are some examples. Expanding Storage If your organization needs to expand its storage, but the servers are aging, and it’s not worth it to invest in new hardware, the hybrid cloud can be a great solution. In this situation, you can move some of your less relevant data to the cloud. This will free up room on your local servers. You will still be able to access anything you need from the cloud. Aging Equipment and New Software Needs If your organization has aging equipment and needs to use new software, you can connect to a public cloud environment and install the software solution there. This allows the organization to use the latest technology while not having to totally replace their physical equipment. This will save them a lot of money. New Physical Locations If your business is opening additional locations and doesn’t want to have servers at every site, you could implement some cloud-based servers that would tie into your business’s infrastructure. You could then make the move over time towards an all-cloud server solution. Disaster Recovery It’s essential for organizations to have a system for disaster recovery in case their systems go down for any reason. You can use some of the technology available from cloud providers to replicate your local servers. And have a ready-to-stand-up image in a cloud provider’s environment. Then, if something happens locally and you need your servers for business to continue, you have your replicated servers ready to go. There is a multitude of ways you can use the hybrid cloud. But those are a handful of real-life scenarios we have helped our clients with.

Growth Prospects of the Hybrid Cloud

Starting with a combination of local servers and cloud servers is the simplest way for an organization to start the move toward the cloud. The growth potential is gigantic. There are many organizations that have still not moved their servers to the cloud. But it’s only a matter of time before all organizations consider the cloud to be a viable way to access data. As connectivity to the cloud improves, it will be an even easier decision to host your servers on the cloud. When connectivity is as fast as local ethernet connections, that is when companies will move to the cloud for good. Suppose the speed of the cloud is the same as ethernet. In that case, there is no logical reason to purchase equipment, maintain it, run it, secure it, ensure there is redundancy for power and internet, and hire staff to maintain the systems. If everything is equal, a cloud option offers security, reliability, accessibility to resources, and loads of growth potential. This will far outweigh what is locally available for an organization. This makes the hybrid cloud an excellent option for organizations now and in the future. We will soon see many organizations moving more of their workloads to the cloud. At Baroan Technologies, we want to help you with your IT needs. We will show you how to leverage your technology to increase your productivity and your bottom-line. We design each IT solution specifically for you, to help reduce your costs, increase your productivity, and mitigate your business risks. Contact us today for more information on how we can help you.

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Baroan is a complete IT services & IT support company working with organizations in Elmwood Park and across the United States of America.

Written by Guy Baroan 
By: Guy Baroan