What is Hybrid Cloud?

A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing model that uses a combination of at least one private cloud and at least one public cloud, which work together to provide a flexible mix of cloud computing services. Hybrid cloud computing extends infrastructure and operations consistently to provide a single operating model that manages application workloads across both environments, allowing for seamless migration of workloads from private to or from public cloud as business needs dictate. 

Hybrid cloud solutions offer a single, seamless pool of resources that support modern application strategies and an organization’s digital transformation efforts. Most organizations have adopted hybrid cloud infrastructure to reduce risk, minimize overall IT and cloud costs, support cloud migration without refactoring, data center consolidation, and meet seasonal peaks in demand for compute and storage resources. 

Hybrid clouds use public and private clouds as a single combined entity where data and application workloads can move seamlessly between platforms and share data between application workloads. This is achieved by virtualization of data and workloads, network function virtualization (NFV) or VPNs, and connectivity to one or more cloud providers. 

There are many hybrid cloud benefits to consider, including: 

• Workload migration. Migrate workloads quickly and without refactoring, using familiar tools and processes, while accessing cloud-native services from the new cloud environment. 
• Facilitate application modernization. With hybrid cloud, organizations can create and deploy microservices and container-based applications while continuing to operate virtual machine–based workloads on the same cloud platform. 
• Enhance scalability. Organization can leverage the instant agility and scale of public cloud providers in near-real time, while using familiar tools and processes. 
• Enforce security and compliance mandates. With hybrid cloud, security policies are linked to each application, which ensures consistent adoption wherever workloads are deployed and managed. 
• Reduce IT workload. By offering self-service to developers and line-of-business (LOB) application owners in on-site and public cloud environments, organizations can handle more requests while unburdening IT staff from mundane repetitive tasks related to spinning up new VMs or containers 
• Increase flexibility. For organizations with a wide range of application requirements and digital business initiatives, hybrid cloud provides options for where and when workloads and data are deployed, which speeds up IT response to changing needs.  
• Reduce complexity. With a single operating model across environments, IT can simplify operations to optimize the mix of capital and operating expense, reduce operating and security risk, and improve operating efficiency while avoiding silos and skills gaps.  
• Support existing and new applications on a single hybrid platform that works with VM and containerized workloads. 
• Increase cloud utility. Hybrid infrastructure allows an organization to improve on-premises cloud capabilities and shift from siloed infrastructure-oriented operations to a service-based model that delivers the same services regardless of where applications are deployed. 

Hybrid architecture is a melding of public and private cloud resources combined with tools that enable common management and orchestration. This enables workloads and data to move easily between the two environments based on the business demands of the organization and enabling functions such as cloudbursting, where workloads normally hosted on-premises or in a private cloud are augmented by public cloud infrastructure to meet spikes in demand.