Modern businesses face the constant need to adapt to change, where IT infrastructure is a key element of success. While keeping critical data and applications on-premises, companies seek to leverage the flexibility and scalability of the public cloud. Hybrid cloud emerges as an optimal solution, allowing these two worlds to be combined and maximizing efficiency from both approaches. It enables workloads to be placed where it is most advantageous in terms of performance, security, compliance, and cost.
What is hybrid cloud and its architecture
Hybrid cloud is an IT infrastructure that combines at least one private cloud (on-premises or private cloud) and one public cloud, ensuring their interaction through integrated technologies and network connectivity. The key element is orchestration and resource management, which allows for seamless movement of data and applications between environments.
A typical hybrid cloud architecture includes:
- On-premises infrastructure: Physical servers, storage, network equipment, virtualization (e.g., VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Nutanix).
- Public Cloud: Resources provided by third-party providers (e.g., Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud).
- Network connectivity: Ensuring secure and fast communication between environments (e.g., VPN, Azure ExpressRoute, AWS Direct Connect, Google Cloud Interconnect).
- Management platforms: Tools for monitoring, automation, and orchestration (e.g., Azure Arc, VMware vRealize, Kubernetes).
Key benefits of hybrid cloud for business
Implementing a hybrid cloud opens up a number of strategic advantages for companies:
- Flexibility and scalability: The ability to quickly scale resources in the public cloud for peak loads without investing in proprietary infrastructure (cloud bursting).
- Control and security: Keeping sensitive data and critical applications on-premises, where the company has full control over security and regulatory compliance.
- Cost optimization (FinOps): The ability to place workloads in the most economically advantageous environment, using an OPEX model for cloud resources and CAPEX for on-premises.
- Business continuity and disaster recovery: Utilizing the public cloud as a platform for backup and disaster recovery (DRaaS), ensuring high availability.
- Application modernization: Gradual transition to cloud-native architectures and use of PaaS/SaaS services in the public cloud.
Use cases and architecture selection
Hybrid cloud is effective in various scenarios:
- Data center extension: Using the public cloud as a logical extension of your own infrastructure when on-premises resources reach their limit.
- Development and testing: Deploying development and testing environments in the public cloud for rapid resource creation and deletion, then migrating to on-premises production.
- Backup and recovery: Storing on-premises data backups in the public cloud (e.g., from Veeam to Azure Blob Storage) and rapid recovery in case of failure.
- VDI and remote work: Deploying cloud desktops (Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365) to provide flexibility and accessibility for remote employees.
- Legacy application modernization: Gradually migrating components of outdated systems to the cloud, while keeping dependent parts on-premises.
Architecture selection depends on specific business requirements:
| Criterion | On-premises (Private Cloud) | Public Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Control | Full control over infrastructure | Control limited by provider |
| Scalability | Limited by physical resources | Virtually unlimited |
| Security | Full company responsibility | Shared responsibility with provider |
| Costs | High CAPEX, predictable OPEX | Low CAPEX, variable OPEX |
| Compliance | Easier to comply with local regulations | Requires careful provider verification |
| Performance | Depends on proprietary equipment | High, with regional selection options |
How SL Global Service addresses this
The SL Global Service team has significant experience in building and optimizing hybrid cloud infrastructures for Ukrainian businesses. SGS engineers begin with a detailed IT audit to understand the current infrastructure, business requirements, and company goals. Based on this, a customized cloud architecture is developed, combining on-premises resources with the capabilities of Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud.
To integrate on-premises and public cloud, the SGS team uses the following technologies:
- Microsoft Azure Arc: Extends Azure management capabilities to servers and Kubernetes clusters running on-premises or in other clouds, unifying resource management.
- Hybrid connections: Configuring VPN tunnels or direct connections (Azure ExpressRoute) using Cisco Firepower, Fortinet, Palo Alto, Cisco Catalyst, or Juniper to ensure secure and fast communication.
- Virtualization and VDI: Implementing Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365 to deploy cloud desktops that integrate with existing on-premises systems, or using VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Nutanix to optimize local resources.
- Cybersecurity: Applying Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Sentinel, Cisco Firepower, Fortinet, Palo Alto, CrowdStrike to provide comprehensive protection in a hybrid environment, including threat monitoring and access management (Microsoft Entra ID, Duo).
- Backup/DR: Developing backup and recovery strategies based on Veeam, Commvault, or Azure Site Recovery, using the public cloud as a remote site for data storage and rapid recovery after disasters.
- DevOps and automation: Implementing Terraform, Ansible, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps to automate the deployment and management of infrastructure and applications in a hybrid environment, ensuring CI/CD.
- FinOps: Continuous monitoring and optimization of cloud costs using Azure Monitor, Prometheus, and Grafana, as well as SL Global Service’s FinOps expertise, to ensure clients pay only for necessary resources.
The typical result of collaboration is a reliable, flexible, and secure hybrid infrastructure that allows SL Global Service clients to optimize operational costs, increase business resilience, and accelerate digital transformation, utilizing the best of both worlds – on-premises and public cloud.
Before opting for a hybrid cloud, carefully analyze your current needs, strategic goals, and available resources. Don’t hesitate to engage experts to develop an optimal architecture and migration plan that will allow you to maximize the potential of a hybrid environment.