In the return to normal life since the pandemic, organisation’s across Australia have accelerated their incorporation of cloud technologies – whether that be public or private cloud. A 2022 Global Hybrid Cloud Trends Report (based on survey results from 2500 different cloud DevOps and NetOps professionals worldwide) shows that 82% of IT leaders have intentionally adopted a Hybrid Cloud strategy, with 42% using up to two or three cloud infrastructure services (access report here).
A successful Hybrid Cloud strategy creates a unified system across on-premises and cloud computing and will often meet the diverse needs of the organisation including data management, geo-expansion, security and data compliance regulations. However, some Hybrid Cloud instances have happened only by default, not strategic implementation, therefore experiencing challenges in cost, security and management.
A strategic Hybrid Cloud system that is designed with future-proof architecture and commercially savvy insight can help enterprises to develop, deploy and manage infrastructure and services in the cloud as well as on-premise environments in a seamless fashion. This article presents 3 ways that organisations can optimise IT investments by incorporating a thorough hybrid cloud strategy.
1. Reduce public cloud costs with a Hybrid Cloud data management solution
Public cloud resources can offer Australian organisations significant benefits, automation and tooling otherwise unknown in the on-premises world. Business agility, access to real-time data and global connectivity can be sourced from any location at a fraction of the time. However, as most public cloud users know – if not effectively monitored, this can result in a proliferation of unnecessary cloud tools, egress charges and licensing costs.
A strategic Hybrid Cloud approach would combine the power of public and private clouds, while incorporating existing tooling and storage from on-premises investments. This reduces the number of cloud tools and workload spend, while also increasing the shelf-life of traditional on-premises infrastructure.
Additionally, private and public clouds require additional effort and scrutiny to customise and configure security standards. Seemingly unaware, business leaders forget that public and private cloud security responsibility lies with them – not the cloud provider (note – Shared Responsibility Model) https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/shared-responsibility-model/
With a Hybrid Cloud security posture, organisations can protect their on-premises infrastructure once, and store mission critical data and applications there, while leaving the cloud for less critical workloads.
2. Share data securely between clouds
More often than not, organisations are sharing essential and compliance related data with multiple cloud tools and applications, while having no mechanism to view where the data is going, who has access to it and how to audit configurations.
With a strategic Hybrid Cloud approach, organisations can design and implement:
- Secure cloud connections between different tools inside public and private clouds, so that data and workloads can be transferred without being vulnerable to attack;
- Locate and add to back-up data in both cloud and on-premises environments;
- Monitor and log all changes in the environment, including abnormal activity that moves inside and out of the cloud perimeter;
- Enable Identity and Access Management (IAM) across all points of the public, private and on-premises environment in a strategic way that does not create access-fatigue, but also allows for the building of a resilient security posture including Zero Trust Architecture.
3. Gain visibility and agility through automation and orchestration of infrastructure tooling
Some of our customers experience challenges in controlling their entire Hybrid Cloud environment. Double up of data, multiple passwords, manual processing and lack of process definition makes it hard to really tap into value. By building a strategic Hybrid Cloud approach that focuses on orchestration and automation, organisations can:
- Use infrastructure automation tools, such as Red Hat’s Ansible, to quickly spin up operating systems, hypervisors, cloud instances and networks;
- Use automation tooling across on-premises and cloud environments to standardise security requirements including firewalls, patching, remediation and system configuration;
- Release software faster through integration, containerisation and automation across the entire environment;
- Benefit from seeing the entire environment from a single-pane that is easily reportable to the Board for compliance, or whilst seeking funding for new projects.
__________
Want to know how we do it?
Advent One partners with Australian enterprises to drive maximum value from their Hybrid Cloud infrastructure. We use expert methodology and automation to turn complex IT infrastructure, both on-premise and in the cloud, into an orchestrated and automated single entity that gives IT teams the control and visibility they need to succeed.
Meet with Advent One to learn how you can refresh, organise and optimise your Hybrid Cloud environment. In this meeting you will learn from Advent One’s experts on how to:
- Build systems that meet regulatory and compliance requirements for data management in your Hybrid Cloud environment;
- Reduce the current total cost of ownership of your current set-up through automation and orchestration;
- Best practices for building a Hybrid Cloud strategy that is future-proofed and cyber resilient.
In exchange for your time, Advent One will purchase 2 Gold Class tickets for you and a plus one to enjoy a treat on us! Learn more about this offer here.