Hybrid Cloud: The bridge between flexibility and control?

1 What is a hybrid cloud?

A hybrid cloud combines IT resources from both a public cloud (e.g. Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform or Amazon Web Services) and a private cloud (e.g. an in-house data centre or dedicated infrastructure at a service provider). This allows companies to simultaneously utilise the scalability and innovative power of large hyperscalers and the data protection-compliant and secure environment of local or dedicated clouds. The result: a flexible, highly available and dynamic IT infrastructure that adapts precisely to business needs.

Which workloads are suitable for which cloud?

Public Cloud: 
For dynamic, load-intensive applications such as web services, SaaS solutions or seasonal peak loads.

Private Cloud: 
For particularly sensitive or latency-critical systems that require higher security or must fulfil strict guidelines.

Hybrid Cloud: 
For companies that have both requirements at the same time - dynamic scaling on the one hand and strict compliance and control on the other.

Many organisations consider a hybrid cloud strategy if they want to modernise or dismantle their data centres and at the same time take advantage of cloud-native technologies. However, a hybrid strategy can also be attractive for companies that already operate all their workloads in a public cloud - for example due to data sovereignty, compliance, cost control or lifecycle management.

2. Why is a hybrid cloud strategy worthwhile?

Companies are faced with the challenge of having to react quickly to changes - be it due to seasonal load peaks, changing customer requirements or new technological developments. A hybrid cloud offers the following key benefits in such situations:

• Flexibility: Workloads can be moved to the public cloud or kept in the private cloud as required.
• Cost savings: A usage-based billing model can reduce high upfront investments in hardware, for example.  
• Security & Compliance: Data protection-critical applications continue to run in controlled, often local data centres, thereby fulfilling regulatory requirements.  
• Innovation power: Modern technologies - such as big data, artificial intelligence and IoT services - can be tested and implemented quickly and with low risk.

3. What cost benefits and predictability does a hybrid cloud offer?

The hybrid cloud can offer significant cost benefits. On the one hand, companies benefit from the usage-based pay-as-you-go model of the public cloud - there is no need for expensive upfront investments in their own hardware. On the other hand, a private cloud enables precise calculation and control of sensitive data in a stable, dedicated environment.

This mix avoids over- or under-provisioning and makes IT costs more transparent and predictable overall. Companies can also react flexibly to market changes and add additional resources in the public cloud as required, without long-term hardware commitments.

4. How does the hybrid cloud strategy contribute to IT modernisation and transformation?

4.1 Modern IT infrastructures 

IT modernisation today means more than just replacing old hardware with new. It's about switching to agile, scalable and flexible services that can be integrated as seamlessly as possible into business processes. A hybrid cloud facilitates this step, as dynamic resources from the public cloud can be used while sensitive or business-critical applications continue to be operated in a private cloud environment.

4.2 Paving the way for digitalisation

The transformation of IT infrastructures towards a hybrid cloud is usually part of a comprehensive digitalisation strategy. This creates an IT landscape in which old and new applications can be efficiently linked and development and operations teams can focus more on innovation instead of routine tasks.

5 How can IT outsourcing be integrated into a hybrid strategy?

The implementation of a hybrid cloud strategy is often linked to the question of whether companies want to outsource parts of their IT infrastructure (partial or complete outsourcing). Such a strategy offers the following advantages, among others:

• Reduction of internal costs: Operating in-house data centres requires specialist expertise and ties up valuable human resources.
• Lower investment costs: an external provider takes over the procurement and maintenance of the hardware.
• Scalability and security: Service providers usually guarantee high-performance operation and have certified security concepts.

At the same time, companies keep important core systems in a private cloud in order to retain full control over particularly sensitive or business-critical applications. The remaining part - for example volatile workloads or less sensitive services - can run in a public cloud such as Microsoft Azure. This creates an optimal mix of economic benefits and control options.

6. How does a hybrid cloud support data sovereignty and what role does the sovereign cloud play?

A hybrid cloud environment allows companies to keep particularly sensitive data in strictly controlled data centres, while less critical workloads are operated in a global public cloud. This ensures compliance with data protection and compliance requirements (e.g. GDPR). The concept of the sovereign cloud focuses even more strongly on industry-specific and country-specific requirements and offers additional security and compliance standards.

In times of geopolitical tensions and political uncertainty, this model is becoming increasingly important in order to maintain control over the most sensitive data at all times and safeguard data sovereignty.

7. What challenges does a hybrid cloud entail?

After the benefits of a hybrid cloud strategy have already been explained, this chapter focuses on the challenges that companies face when planning and operating a hybrid infrastructure.

7.1 Complex management

The coordination of different cloud services and on-premise environments requires standardised monitoring, orchestration tools and suitable security concepts. If there is no centralised control, there is a risk of inconsistencies in updates, security guidelines or service levels.

7.2 Dependencies and integration issues

In order to ensure smooth communication between different platforms, interfaces and APIs must harmonise perfectly with each other. Compatibility and integration issues can increase complexity if, for example, certain services in locally hosted environments cannot be easily moved to the public cloud.

7.3 Governance and cost control

In a hybrid cloud in particular, it is essential to keep an eye on all resources. If workloads are spread across multiple providers and local data centres, costs can quickly get out of hand. At the same time, there is an increased administrative burden to define clear guidelines, budgets and responsibilities.

7.4 Security and compliance requirements

Different environments mean different security and data protection standards. Particularly in highly regulated industries, companies need to ensure that policies are implemented consistently for both on-premise systems and public cloud connections - especially when sensitive data is processed in multiple regions.

8. Conclusion: A hybrid cloud strategy is the sweet spot for modernisation and cost optimisation

For many companies, a hybrid cloud strategy offers the best of both worlds: maximum flexibility, innovation and scalability, coupled with strict data sovereignty and compliance. Whether you start completely on-premise or already operate workloads in a public cloud and want to merge them - a well-implemented hybrid cloud enables a customised solution for modern, agile IT operations.

At the same time, linking different architectures also brings challenges: from complex integration processes and the management of multiple environments to increased security and compliance requirements.

Claranet helps companies to systematically overcome these hurdles. Over the next few months, this blog will provide you with exciting insights from our customer projects - from project planning and architecture examples to expert tips for the efficient and secure operation of hybrid clouds. Are you interested in a personal dialogue about the specific possibilities and options for your company? Then I recommend the free Cloud Exploration Workshop.