To understand what hybrid cloud services involve, you really need to grasp the difference between public cloud and private cloud.

• A public cloud is owned by a third party and used by many different companies and individual users. Its main advantage is scalability.
• A private cloud is created solely for the use of employees and customers of a single business. Its main advantage is that security is generally a lot tighter.

As you have probably already guessed, hybrid cloud services utilise both private and public services. As such, you get the best of both worlds.

For example, you could run a part of your site that doesn’t require high-end security through public cloud services. This would dramatically reduce your costs since public clouds can be accessed a lot more economically, and you’d be able to scale up your storage needs very easily. If you kept all that data on a private cloud, it would be very secure behind a private firewall, but only a small portion of data would really merit such protection. You’d be paying extra for protection you don’t really need. On the flipside, going with only public cloud services would be risky if you needed to handle very sensitive or valuable data. Companies that use software that needs protection, for example if there are documents or programs on the system that are confidential, using a public cloud wouldn’t be suitable. Many companies, such as Wandera, offer solutions that offer cybersecurity alongside their cloud services. For example, Wandera offers various cybersecurity tools such as having zero-trust network access, which makes it harder for hackers to attempt an attack.

Hybrid cloud services have become popular in response to the fact that finding a one-size-fits-all solution is practically impossible without using both public and private cloud services. It’s a holistic alternative that minimises the need to compromise. If your company is looking for improved cloud services capabilities, contact a service company like Royal Cyber to learn if hybrid cloud services are something you can take advantage of.

Additionally, compliance regulations have become stricter. If you need convincing, just look to how tough the penalties will be when General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into action next year. Small and medium sized businesses that couldn’t justify the cost of going completely with private cloud services often opted for public instead, but that simply won’t be an option anymore if hefty fines are to be avoided. Hybrid services provide a way out of that problem.

Of course, setting up a hybrid cloud service is no walk in the park. From deciding which data should be held where to actually creating a network that feels fully integrated, you’re going to need the assistance of a professional team.