Hybrid cloud strategy What is a hybrid cloud strategy?
Hybrid cloud strategy optimizes hybrid infrastructure resource allocation by mixing public, private, and on-premises to meet business goals such as security, agility, and cost-effectiveness.
- Build a hybrid cloud strategy
- Hybrid cloud strategy components
- Hybrid cloud strategy benefits
- Hybrid cloud strategy challenges
- HPE and hybrid cloud strategy
How do you build a hybrid cloud strategy?
Phase 1: Evaluation and planning
- Assess current IT infrastructure, including hardware, software, applications, and data. Evaluate workload, security, and resource use.
- Clearly outline company objectives for implementing a hybrid cloud approach. Think about agility, scalability, cost optimization, and security.
- Check for data privacy laws that may affect cloud implementation. Develop strategies with compliance in mind.
Phase 2: Design and implementation
- Based on security, processing, and pricing, deploy each task in public, private, or on-premises infrastructure.
- Choose public cloud providers with necessary services, security, and scalability for your workloads. Pricing, geography, and integration should be considered.
- Design a secure, integrated hybrid cloud architecture for easy communication and data movement between platforms.
Phase 3: Control and optimization
- Use tools and platforms to manage your hybrid cloud infrastructure properly. The options include infrastructure provisioning, workload orchestration, security monitoring, and performance optimization.
- Monitor hybrid cloud environment for improvement opportunities. Regularly evaluate resource consumption, reschedule workload, and automate operations.
What are the key components of a hybrid cloud strategy?
1. Evaluate and plan:
- The current IT landscape evaluation analyzes your infrastructure's hardware, software, applications, and data. Assessments of workload, security, and resource consumption will determine your starting point.
- Define company objectives for implementing a hybrid cloud approach. Think about agility, scalability, cost optimization, and security. This aids decision-making.
- Check for data privacy laws that may affect cloud implementation. Consider compliance requirements while developing a plan to assure security and compliance.
2. Design/implementation:
- Workload placement strategy is essential for maximized resource use and security. The best location for each task in public cloud, private cloud, or on-premises architecture depends on the following criteria:
- Consider storing sensitive data in a private cloud or on-premises environment.
- A public cloud provider can be helpful for demanding workloads that require a lot of processing power or specialized software.
- For scalable workloads, public clouds may be cost-effective, whereas on-premises infrastructure may be better for core applications with predictable resource demands.
- Select public cloud providers with necessary services, security, and scalability for your workloads. Consider these factors:
- Choose a pay-as-you-go or reserved instance pricing strategy that matches your workload.
- Choose a supplier with data centers in locations that fulfill latency and residency needs.
- Check for smooth interaction between the cloud provider and your existing infrastructure and technologies.
- Design a secure and integrated hybrid cloud architecture. Network connections, data transfer protocols, and security measures must be designed to facilitate smooth communication and data transfer between cloud platforms.
3. Manage and optimize:
- Implement tools and platforms for successful hybrid cloud management. Consider following:
- Implement automated infrastructure provisioning for resources in various cloud environments.
- Manage and automate workload deployment and scaling in your hybrid cloud with workload orchestration.
- Continuously monitor your environment for security risks and vulnerabilities.
- Optimize performance by identifying areas for improvement and optimizing resource consumption for peak performance.
- Optimize your hybrid cloud environment by monitoring it often to find areas for improvement. Regularly evaluate resource consumption, reschedule workload, and automate operations. This keeps your hybrid cloud approach efficient and cost-effective.
What are the benefits of hybrid cloud strategy?
- Enhanced agility and innovation: Hybrid cloud enables businesses to respond to shifting market conditions with greater agility and innovation. Private cloud or on-premises infrastructure supports key business applications, whereas public cloud resources may be scaled up or down to suit variable demand. You can experiment with new technologies and deploy products and services faster.
- Enhanced efficiency and cost optimization: By intelligently assigning workloads, you can use each activity's most cost-effective cloud environment. Public clouds provide pay-as-you-go options for uncertain workloads, whereas on-premises infrastructure may be acceptable for core applications with known resource demands. This strategy optimizes IT expenditures and reduces costs.
- Enhanced security and compliance: Hybrid cloud strategies prioritize security. While using top public cloud providers' comprehensive security capabilities, you may govern critical data in your private cloud or on-premises environment. Additionally, your plan should comply with data privacy laws. This multilayered method boosts security.
- Simplified management: Handling a complicated hybrid cloud infrastructure is challenging. With the correct tools and skills, processes may be simplified. HPE tools and services automate provisioning, orchestration, and monitoring across your hybrid cloud, simplifying management and relieving IT staff stress.
- Building a modern IT foundation: Hybrid cloud enables contemporary IT foundation. Move old apps to the cloud strategically to increase performance, scalability, and manageability. Hybrid cloud models make integrating new technologies and applications easier, making your IT infrastructure future-proof.
What are the challenges of hybrid cloud strategy?
- Complexity: Hybrid cloud management is complex. Integration and orchestration across infrastructures, tools, and technologies are required. IT experts must manage numerous cloud systems, enabling seamless connection and data transmission.
- Security and compliance: Consistent security rules and data privacy compliance across cloud environments are difficult. You must implement data encryption, access restrictions, and vulnerability assessments across your hybrid cloud infrastructure. Your area and industry may have data privacy requirements that you must follow.
- Vendor lock-In: Careless cloud resource decisions can lead to provider dependence. This "vendor lock-in" can decrease flexibility and raise expenses. Assess cloud providers based on your demands and prevent vendor monopoly.
- Expertise: IT workers must know both on-premises and cloud technologies to implement and manage a hybrid cloud environment. Some firms may need to train or employ skilled workers to do this.
- Cost optimization: Monitoring and managing resource use in public and private clouds is essential for hybrid cost optimization. Cost-effectiveness requires continual resource consumption assessment, task placement adjustments, and automation to simplify operations.
How does HPE empower your hybrid cloud strategy?
HPE provides a full range of services and solutions to help you plan and optimize your hybrid cloud journey. Here's how HPE enhances hybrid cloud strategy:
- Plan & strategize:
- HPE Transformation Services: Utilize consultancy knowledge for a bespoke hybrid cloud approach. These services include:
o Conduct assessment workshops to evaluate your IT landscape, workload, and business goals.
o Develop a customized hybrid cloud approach that addresses security, compliance, agility, and cost efficiency to meet your needs and objectives.
o Determine the best location for workloads in public, private, or on-premises infrastructure.
- Infrastructure and Implementation:
- HPE private cloud: A pay-as-you-go concept simplifies private cloud infrastructure. A scalable and elastic private cloud solution from HPE GreenLake gives you cloud agility and flexibility while protecting data and application control.
- Implement Zerto, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company (Security Solutions) for comprehensive hybrid cloud security. HPE offers several security options:
o Protect sensitive data at rest and in transit with encryption and access restrictions.
o Proactively identify and mitigate security issues through vulnerability assessments and threat detection.
o Ensure company continuity and minimize downtime with Zerto's disaster recovery and workload mobility features.
- HPE Application Modernization Services: Optimize older apps for hybrid cloud environments. HPE offers containerization, re-platforming, and rewriting services to boost application performance, scalability, and agility.
- Skill and knowledge:
- HPE training and certification: Train IT professionals for efficient hybrid cloud management. HPE offers hybrid cloud training and certifications.
- Manage and optimize:
- HPE GreenLake for Compute Ops Management: Reduce daily management with HPE's operational support services. HPE GreenLake monitors, optimizes, and manages your hybrid cloud infrastructure, freeing up your IT team to focus on key projects.
