Cloud computing has been a thing for a while now and the business world has quickly caught up by not only adapting to cloud environments but by taking advantage of the new options they offer. Even everyday users are by now accustomed to using services like Apple Cloud or Google Drive daily – and many professionals make the most of it, especially when it comes to working on shared projects. Nowadays, the next generation of cloud computing seems to transcend the boundaries between private and public: hybrid cloud seems to be here to stay.
What is Hybrid Cloud Computing?
A hybrid cloud, as the name suggests, is an interconnected cloud computing environment that takes advantage of the pros of both a public cloud and a private one, by combining them both. In essence, this means that data and applications are transferable and shared between the two clouds – i.e., that they can be hosted in whichever type of cloud is more convenient at a given time. Several major companies have launched their own versions of hybrid cloud services, like Microsoft, which allows its Azure computing services to be partnered up with a private cloud.
Why Choose a Hybrid Cloud?
The most crucial upside of migrating to a hybrid cloud is the increased potential for flexibility and scalability. Having the choice between the two platforms allows users to enlist the increased power of a public cloud for routine and non-critical tasks, and reserve the increased security of a private cloud for hosting sensitive data and applications that require more privacy. Besides investing in security and privacy, operating on a hybrid cloud also means that whenever there are spikes in storage demand and traffic, companies can switch to the increased potential of public clouds to hold additional data.
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Of course, this will rarely be enough on its own, so in order to properly deal with more server load than they were expecting, businesses also enlist the help of load balancer solutions. A global server load balancer, for example, is a good solution for organizations that operate across multiple data centers or have moved on to hybrid cloud computing, as it distributes load across several resources, optimizing application performance. Using a hybrid cloud also means lower costs for enterprises, as they can pay for public cloud services when they need additional space and keep the cost of running a more modest in-house private cloud as low as possible.
Is Hybrid Cloud the Future?
Many businesses have already shown a preference for elaborate cloud environments, as 85% opted for a multi-cloud system in 2017 – a figure up from 82% in 2016. Regarding choices in public cloud services, it seems that AWS is still leading the way at 57%, but Microsoft Azure increased its penetration to 34% in 2017 – up from 20% just a year before – while Google comes in third at 15%. Overall, the value of the hybrid cloud market is expected to reach $91.74 billion in 2021, up from $33.28 billion in 2016, at an estimated Compound Annual Growth Rate of 22.5%.
As more and more enterprises switch over to hybrid cloud environments, it will be interesting to watch how this will affect customers and the way that individuals approach cloud services; would this be the next best thing in personal computer cloud hosting services, too?
