Hybrid Cloud: Useful Approach or Shiny New Toy?

Hybrid cloud computing comprises one or more public and private clouds that operate as separate entities but are integrated at the data, process, management or security layers. It’s important to recognize that a hybrid cloud capability — by definition — requires a private cloud computing capability to be in-place. 

All cloud computing services, including hybrid cloud computing, fall into three categories:

• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a standardized, highly automated cloud offering that provides customers computing resources — complemented by storage and networking capabilities — on demand. This encompasses virtual machines (VMs), containers and “bare metal” compute infrastructure.

• Platform as a service (PaaS) is a type of cloud offering that delivers application infrastructure (middleware) capabilities as a service.

• Software as a service (SaaS) is software that is owned, delivered and managed remotely by one or more providers. However, SaaS is not typically considered in a private or hybrid cloud context

I&O leaders are often tasked with integrating public and private cloud capabilities into a workable hybrid arrangement. In many cases, executives, convinced that moving to the cloud will provide some sort of “silver bullet” for a range of unsolved business problems, fuel these initiatives. 

To go from “cloud-first” — a phrase excited executives like to use — to “cloud smart,” take a systematic approach leading up to a framework that delivers on hybrid cloud solutions:

1. Define executives’ business challenges. Identify how IT can address both top-line (e.g., improve customer experience, grow revenue) and bottom-line investment objectives (e.g., increase employee productivity, increase cost-efficiency). I&O can typically solve digital business predicaments rooted in an inability to improve workflow speed, data availability or accuracy, or application performance or accessibility.

2. Articulate the risks of “simple” cloud strategies. Educate executives about the three most common mistakes organizations make when rushing to the cloud: moving the wrong workloads or failing to optimize them for the cloud; launching workloads in the public cloud before business users and processes are ready to use them; and embracing cloud platforms without updating IT processes.

3. Propose a cloud-smart hybrid strategy. Despite the risks, leaders will resist forcing cloud migration unless they are presented with a better alternative.

4. Conduct a portfolio assessment. “Lift and shift” migration proposals from public cloud providers attract senior executives because they offer a fast, easily understood escape from legacy IT infrastructure. Show executives that you support public cloud migration but want to protect the organization from vendor misrepresentation. Use the cloud provider’s migration assessment process to present a smarter, more risk-adjusted workload portfolio assessment.

Once you (and the C-suite) have a clearer picture of the limitations and benefits of cloud computing, scope project requirements and assess needs, evaluate and deploy private cloud solutions to meet those needs, and integrate private cloud capabilities with public cloud applications and assets.

The Gartner Hybrid Cloud Adoption Framework breaks each of these steps into multiple activities, beginning with a number of scoping activities: 

• Forming a team. Include members of security and risk management; enterprise architecture; application development; and sourcing, procurement and vendor management to up your chances for success. 

• Scoping definitions. Ensure a set of common definitions and concepts to prevent confusion and misunderstandings.

• Defining use cases. Data sovereignty or security, regulatory compliance, latency or customization requirements, and avoiding vendor lock-in are all solid use cases. If none apply, reconsider whether your organization really needs a hybrid cloud solution.

• Collecting requirements. Consider IaaS/PaaS and self-service capabilities, cost and consumption tracking, workflow management and integrations to public cloud IaaS/PaaS providers.

• Assessing available solutions. Look into private cloud solutions among IaaS-leaning, PaaS-leaning and distributed cloud options.

Once private cloud capabilities are brought online, enable hybrid cloud computing by:

• Integrating infrastructure. Private and public cloud environments must be integrated at the hardware and utility component levels.

• Orchestrating runtime environments. For example, for VM mobility or workload scaling (cloudbursting), or for vendor-agnostic PaaS or container environments.

• Integrating applications. This takes place between applications and data, without the need for integration within infrastructure or runtime environments. At this level, integration is relatively easy for an experienced application development team with public cloud assets that have known or well-documented APIs.