Historically, every household had its own water well.
Today, public utilities provide clean water to everyone by turning on a tap. Cloud computing functions in a similar way. Like water from a faucet, hybrid networking environments may be quickly turned on and off. As with the water company, a dedicated workforce guarantees that the Cloud service provided is safe, secure, and always available.
A hybrid network is a type of Cloud computing that integrates on-premise technology with a public Cloud. Data and applications can travel between the two environments owing to hybrid Clouds. Many products of the company employ a hybrid Cloud strategy to solve business imperatives such as meeting regulatory and data sovereignty requirements, maximising on-premise technology investment, or addressing low latency challenges.
Cloud Computing is Empowering
The Cloud provides data access from anywhere, at any time, and on any compatible device. This mobility speeds up procedures, enhances communication, and empowers remote employees. Moving to the Cloud can save money, while freeing IT personnel from day-to-day responsibilities, allowing them to focus on enhancing operations and growing the business. 92% of organisations have a multi-Cloud strategy in place or are in the process of developing one, and 82% of large enterprises have implemented a hybrid Cloud infrastructure.
With the rapid shift to remote work during the pandemic, many organisations that had not previously used Cloud deployments quickly realised the value and importance of doing so. This demand has continued to increase. According to a recent study, 16% of all employees work remotely, with 62% preferring a hybrid work environment. Many employees today have the flexibility to work when, how, and where they want for a variety of tasks. This could include some days of in-office collaboration, deep focus work at home on others, and working from a coffee shop while travelling. Employers face challenges in adapting to and meeting these needs, but reap the benefits of employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention in the long run.
Hybrid networking is an excellent storage and scalability solution because it enables businesses to scale their storage up or down based on ongoing demand. Multi-Cloud providers should ideally collaborate seamlessly so that organisations can invest in any level of space, security, and protection based on the needs of each data segment. Administrators can align their business requirements with the best Cloud-hosting providers for each task by incorporating multiple Clouds into a companys IT strategy. Organisations can choose a provider based on its fast upload speed, while another provider can guarantee better service level agreement terms. Users can achieve a high level of agility by having multiple options and matching each part of their business to a specific providers setup and execution terms.
Securing the Cloud
Cloud adoption and an increase in remote work have extended the enterprise perimeter, increasing the attack surface, and the continued shift to a hybrid Cloud will increase this attack surface even further. According to a recent survey, 80% of companies have experienced at least one Cloud security incident in the last year, and 27% of organisations have experienced a public Cloud security incident. However, Cloud storage can be built from the ground up to ensure maximum data security. As Cloud providers are responsible for the security of their infrastructures, they can ensure that an organisation has all of the capabilities required for data protection. A business networks security must be evaluated regularly as its infrastructure and software evolve.
Another significant benefit of implementing a multi-Cloud strategy is risk management. If one vendors infrastructure fails or is attacked, a multi-Cloud user can quickly switch to a different service provider or backup to a private Cloud. Risk can be reduced by using redundant, independent systems that provide robust authentication mechanisms, vulnerability testing, and API asset consolidation.A multi-Cloud solutioncan help protect a companys critical data by providing backup and recovery capabilities that ensure business continuity in the event of an emergency, whether caused by a failed driveor a natural disaster.
The Future is Hybrid
A hybrid Cloud network is a software-centric architecture that tightly integrates computing, storage, and virtualisation resources in a single system. Modern businesses rely on data centres to provide the computing, storage, networking, and management resources required to host critical enterprise workloads and data. However, data centres are notoriously complex places where many vendors compete to deliver a plethora of devices, systems, and software.
Challenges to consider include compatibility issues in synchronisation, security challenges relating to data handling, access management protocols and the evident skills gap in bringing all of this together. Fortunately, there are strategies and tools to help resolve the complications of hybrid management and create a streamlined approach across environments. Cloud migration is well underway for many organisations, driven by a variety of business factors and accelerated in many cases by the pandemic.
About the Author
Alan Hayward is Sales and Marketing Manager at SEH Technology. SEH is a manufacturer of high quality network solutions. With over 30 years of experience in printing and networks we possess broad and profound solution skills in areas for all types of business environments. We develop and manufacture all products at our headquarters in Germany. Worldwide distribution is via our US and UK subsidiaries and an extensive network of partners, distributors, and resellers.
Featured image: ako-photography
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Hybrid Networking Environments: Optimising IT Infrastructures in 2023 - TechNative