As digital transformation continues to expand, businesses face the overwhelming challenge of managing and processing all the data produced daily. According to Statista, Global data production is forecasted to rise from 64.2 zettabytes in 2020 to 180 zettabytes by 2025 – emphasizing the need for effective data management.
To address this challenge, many companies are turning to the cloud as a solution. As reported by Gartner, the public cloud market alone is expected to reach $623.3 billion by 2023 from $229.4 billion in 2019, an increase of 22.9.% from 2019.
While public cloud services can be useful, they may only sometimes be ideal for managing sensitive or confidential data. That’s where Hybrid Cloud Architecture comes into play – providing businesses with public and private cloud options tailored to their particular data management requirements.
This article explores the details of hybrid cloud architecture and (Also learn about the difference between multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud environments)
What is Hybrid Cloud Architecture?
Hybrid cloud architecture combines public and private clouds through a network connection to manage applications and data as a single IT architecture. The National Institute of Standards defines it as:
“A cloud computing architecture composed of two or more distinct infrastructures connected by proprietary or standardized technology, enabling the movement of workloads between public and private clouds.”
Hybrid cloud architecture heavily relies on portability to seamlessly integrate both environments into a single workflow.
Building Blocks of Hybrid Cloud
The building blocks of hybrid cloud architecture systems include:
Private Cloud
Private Cloud It gives the company complete authority over its cloud infrastructure, guaranteeing the safety of its most vital apps and data.
Public Cloud
Accessible to anybody with an internet connection, a public cloud is a cloud infrastructure owned and controlled by an external service provider. Private clouds are generally less safe than private ones but provide a less expensive option for hosting less important applications.
Cloud Management Platform
The hybrid cloud’s many parts are managed and coordinated by the cloud management platform, which serves as the hybrid cloud’s backbone. This entails installing and provisioning resources, keeping tabs on the cloud’s health, and checking that all the security and compliance boxes are checked.
Network Connectivity
The ability to connect to a network is crucial to the operation of a hybrid cloud, as it serves as the bridge between private and public clouds and facilitates the movement of data and programs between them. This can be done through a virtual private network (VPN), a direct connection, or both.
How Does Hybrid Cloud Architecture Work?
A hybrid cloud system combines private and public clouds, offering similar functionality as when used independently. Here are the primary steps involved:
- Multiple computers are connected through a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), APIs, and Virtual Private Network (VPN).
- Resources are abstracted away using virtualization, software-defined storage, and containers, creating data lakes.
- Management software allocates these resources into environments or locations where applications can run.
- An authentication service provides the resources on demand.
Benefits of Hybrid Cloud Architecture
Recent research found that companies utilizing hybrid cloud architectures can save up to 20% compared to those using exclusively public cloud solutions.
Besides saving IT investments, following are some more benefits of Hybrid cloud architecture:
- Freedom to select suitable cloud environment: A hybrid cloud gives businesses the freedom to select the cloud environment that best suits their needs, taking into account factors such as the importance of the data being stored and the mission-critical nature of the software being used.
- Added Security: Storage of mission-critical programs and data in a private cloud provides an extra layer of security against unauthorized access.
- Cost-effective: With a hybrid cloud, businesses can expand their capacity as needed without investing much in new hardware.
- Enhanced performance and dependability: Utilizing a hybrid cloud allows businesses to take advantage of the enhanced performance and dependability of public clouds. In contrast, they know that only authorized users have access to their essential applications and data in a secure private cloud.
- Compliance: Keeping sensitive information in a private cloud helps businesses comply with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.
- Increased Flexibility: With a hybrid cloud, businesses can adapt quickly to new opportunities and threats, and their IT infrastructure can expand with their needs
Formulating a Hybrid Cloud Architecture Design
There are several factors to consider while designing a hybrid cloud architecture, such as the organization’s needs, the current IT setup, the cloud provider(s) to use, and the hybrid cloud architecture’s eventual implementation. Each of these procedures is described in depth below.
Step 1: Define Requirements
Identifying the needs of a business is the first stage in developing a hybrid cloud infrastructure. The first step is determining if a private or public cloud would be better for storing your data and apps. Data confidentiality, the importance of the use case, and compliance with relevant regulations are all factors to take into account.
Step 2: Assess Existing IT Infrastructure
The next thing to do is take stock of the company’s current IT setup. Acknowledging the existing hardware, software, and network components that will be integrated into the hybrid cloud architecture is an important first step. The assessment should also evaluate the present IT staff’s skills and knowledge and the organization’s capacity and performance needs.
Step 3: Choose the Right Cloud Provider(s)
To select the best cloud service, businesses must look at their needs and current IT systems (s) state. This entails comparing and contrasting public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform to find the one that best fits the needs of the business.
Step 4: Implement Hybrid Cloud Architecture
The implementation of a hybrid cloud architecture is the last stage in the process of creating such an architecture. Setting up both the public and private clouds and the cloud management system is required. The implementation should also involve deploying relevant network connectivity components, such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and direct connections, to guarantee that information and applications may move freely between private and public clouds.
Considerations When Designing a Hybrid Cloud Architecture
To get the benefits of cloud computing while protecting existing IT investments, a business must connect its hybrid cloud architecture with its existing IT infrastructure.
- Safety: Since crucial apps and sensitive data must be hosted in a safe, private cloud environment, security must be a primary concern when creating a hybrid cloud architecture.
- Compliance: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are two examples of regulations that hybrid cloud environments must adhere to.
- Scalability: The hybrid cloud architecture must be scalable so that the company can keep up with its rapid expansion and adapt swiftly to shifting business needs.
- Budgetary considerations: It calls for a hybrid cloud architecture that helps the company save money while still meeting its needs, as opposed to the more expensive option of using traditional IT.
- Performance and dependability: The hybrid cloud architecture must provide increased performance and dependability to keep the company’s IT infrastructure safe and reliable.
Choosing the best cloud provider and developing a hybrid architecture involves thought and preparation (s). Organizations may create a hybrid cloud architecture that works for them by adhering to these procedures and thinking through these critical issues, allowing them to reap the benefits of cloud computing, including increased adaptability, scalability, security, and cost savings.
Hybrid Cloud Architecture–Challenges
Hybrid cloud architecture presents its own set of challenges, such as:
Higher Cost than Public Cloud
Constructing and running private servers is often expensive, making public cloud solutions more appealing for smaller organizations with tight budgets. Furthermore, creating and maintaining a private cloud necessitates cloud architects and IT personnel – something which may prove challenging for companies with limited IT resources.
Potential Operational Delays
Hybrid cloud environments may not be optimal for applications requiring the highest speed due to latency issues in data storage. While this may not be a major concern when uploading and downloading files, it can have an impact on organizations that utilize hybrid cloud computing environments.
Reduced Control
Hybrid cloud architecture may give you limited control over computing and storage options. For secure operations, a hybrid cloud requires secure integration between private and public environments; as such, any changes made in the public cloud environment that are beyond your control must be adapted in your private infrastructure – potentially leading to some concerns.
Taikun, the Hybrid Clouds Architecture!
Companies may benefit from the public cloud’s scalability and low costs and the private cloud’s privacy and control by adopting a hybrid cloud architecture. With Taikun, businesses can leverage the flexibility of hybrid cloud architecture to fulfil their specific needs and objectives.
To help businesses better leverage public cloud services, Taikun provides a full-featured cloud management platform for integrating on-premises IT with the cloud, all while keeping mission-critical apps and data safe in a private cloud. When using Taikun, businesses can improve their responsiveness, dependability, and efficiency while satisfying government mandates and maximizing output. (See more Taikun Features)
With Taikun, businesses can take advantage of hybrid cloud architecture’s advantages and maintain a competitive edge. Hybrid cloud architecture, which allows companies to reap the benefits of private and public clouds, is expected to gain traction as the demand for cloud-based services and applications rises.
