What Is Hybrid Cloud Storage
As businesses continue to expand, cloud-based services have become more important than ever. In order to get the most out of technology, hybrid cloud storage maximizes both offline and online resources. Hybrid cloud storage is a viable option for those who want to complement their existing internal data storage with cloud-based services.
Cloud services are the future; to paint a picture of the growing popularity and migration to this platform, Hosting Tribunal reports that with a hybrid cloud adoption rate of 58 percent, organizations are also spending, on average, an annual cloud budget amounting to US$ 2.2 million in 2018.
What’s driving the adoption of hybrid cloud storage?
As a combination of cloud storage and local data centers, hybrid cloud storage offers the best of both worlds. By tapping hybrid cloud products, firms can enjoy flexible networks to deliver a broad spectrum of services. Below are the top three common reasons for adopting a hybrid cloud storage system.
- System Flexibility: Through a hybrid approach, companies are able to improve efficiency and more effectively manage their backend. Through complimentary private and public cloud servers, privacy and scalability can be optimized – enterprises can combine the security offered by private cloud networks while tapping the scalability of the public cloud to expand system requirements and allow for growth.
- Better Bottom Lines: Adopting a cloud platform is more cost-effective because of the lack of physical requirements. With a hybrid interface, companies can forego the often-expensive infrastructure requirements and tap cloud services for faster service delivery, better storage – in terms of access and portability.
- Increased Data Protection: One of the barriers to hybrid cloud storage adoption is the concern that cloud services could put data at risk. This is a myth. With hybrid cloud storage systems, IT resources can be placed in the cloud but by retaining private cloud services, IT managers retain full system control.
Relatedly, convenience and portability are critical advantages that should not be overlooked. By providing cloud access, team members will be able to access storage while mobile, allowing your enterprise to operate outside of the barriers posed by geographical realities.
On the other hand, some possible challenges to anticipate when undergoing hybrid cloud adoption include skills gap and upfront investment. However, these challenges can be quickly overcome with proper planning and identification of the right service provider for your needs.
Who has the most to gain from hybrid cloud storage?
Hybrid cloud storage solutions can be applied to any enterprise – be it a start-up or an established industry leader. However, those that stand to really benefit from these advantages are small-to-medium enterprises. Due to a limited budget and lean personnel teams, maximizing cloud storage solutions lowers overhead expenses while unburdening IT team members from some tedious responsibilities.
Hybrid cloud storage can not only improve the development of product and services and customer service, but it can also contribute to streamlining operations and protecting valuable data.
A combination of public and private, on-premises cloud services are not independent of each other but complementary. The hybrid IT trend has been here for a while and adoption will offer more benefits than most managers imagine. Embrace the opportunity and focus on having a single, efficient management plane for your network.
