According to CIO, 96 percent of organizations use cloud computing. What’s more, sixty-two percent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) plan to increase their cloud usage by at least 20 percent.
But the race to the cloud isn’t an all or nothing kind of thing. There are many times when a hybrid cloud computing solution is the best choice for SMBs.
And if you’re wondering what that is, you’re not alone. Don’t worry. We’ll break it down for you.
Hybrid cloud solutions often work best
First of all, no matter what anyone else says, the cloud isn’t the best environment for all of an organization’s applications.
It’s important to define your organization’s needs. Then and only then can you decide exactly which tools you’re going to use—both in the cloud and onsite.
Once you have a plan, don’t be surprised if you find a hybrid cloud solution to be the most effective option.
Here are a few examples of times when you’ll want to lean on the cloud and times when it’s better to go with an onsite option.
- Applications that can be easily migrated to the cloud will help you reap all the benefits of cloud computing.
- Applications that have unpredictable usage loads may be good targets for migration. The easily scalable cloud environment will help to offset fluctuations in usage.
- Applications that require mobile access are natural cloud migration targets. For example, you can effectively use Office 365 to improve productivity and collaboration when it is based in the cloud.
- Applications that are mission-critical may have the lowest priority for cloud migration. You will have the opportunity to do some migration and testing before considering whether mission-critical applications should be migrated.
- Applications that have external users may be better in an on-premise environment. The security requirements for such an application will need to be different from an application that only needs employee access.
- Applications that would require complex modernization may not be good cloud apps. The cost of restructuring legacy applications is often prohibitive, and you’ll need a hybrid solution.
- Applications that require third-party software may present licensing issues if you want to move it to the cloud. In addition, latency and bandwidth requirements for communicating with applications that can’t be migrated to the cloud may indicate the need for keeping the application on-premise.
Hybrid cloud solutions produce results
CIO checked with industry experts to gauge the results hybrid solutions are producing. Their answers can be summarized into four categories.
Flexibility
With a hybrid solution, you can migrate applications at your own pace. You can take time to evaluate which applications should migrate to the cloud. In addition, using the cloud means that your IT staff will have more time for mission-critical tasks.
Reduced Risk
Hybrid systems help reduce risk because you have more options for data deployment. In a well-developed hybrid environment, applications can become portable, and the increased data security available from cloud providers reduces security risks.
Improved Customer Experience
Taking advantage of cloud solutions for some applications will allow you to bring new applications to market faster and expand the way you engage with your customers and prospects.
Improved Collaboration
Using a hybrid solution, you can bring people together more effectively without compromising security. Collaboration is a key to productivity in today’s business environment. SMBs that avoid common mistakes and provide adequate training on new applications will achieve greater productivity and a competitive advantage.
The most important benefit of hybrid computing
The experts agree. Using a hybrid approach helps you achieve digital transformation faster than sticking exclusively to on-premise options or the cloud.
You can have a set of IT solutions are scalable and more secure. Plus, your IT staff will have more flexibility to concentrate on ROI-generating projects. That gives you the chance to focus on actually growing your business.
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