Is Your Business Taking Advantage of Hybrid Cloud Networking?

Organizations are always looking for ways to streamline operations and reduce overall business costs. An effective way that’s also gaining in popularity is moving data to either a public or private cloud. 

While both models have their best uses, what about taking advantage of a hybrid cloud? Here’s a look at the key benefits of adopting hybrid cloud networking and some may even help give your business an edge over the competition. 

Benefits of Hybrid Cloud Networking

If you’re not sure what hybrid cloud networking refers to, the premise is pretty simple. A hybrid cloud network simply blends your public and private cloud services into a single infrastructure. 

You still have control over your business’s sensitive data while also being able to scale the network to meet your current needs. So, what are some of the benefits your business can get with hybrid cloud networking?

Reduce Costs

Paying for separate services from both private and public cloud providers can get expensive. With hybrid cloud networking, you can reduce costs while also protecting sensitive data.

You can use less expensive public cloud models for non-sensitive data. Team members have access to project data and can easily collaborate with other departments. Your sensitive data stays in a private cloud helping ensure your business is meeting all industry compliance standards.

Flexibility

With a hybrid cloud model, your business can choose which model manages what data. This flexibility makes it easier for companies to take advantage of savings by only paying for the services they need. 

Regulatory compliance standards are easier to meet. Employee performance can also see a boost when businesses transition to hybrid cloud networking.

Scalability

Businesses are seeing the benefits of scalable services like hybrid cloud networking. A hybrid cloud environment lets businesses scale their services based on the organization’s current demand.

For example, if you need to analyze large amounts of data from previous years for an upcoming annual sale. You can temporarily increase services and scale back down at the end of the sale. This way, your business is only paying for the services it needs and uses.

Improved Disaster Recovery Strategy

Your business should have a data recovery strategy ready to go if a manmade or natural disaster strikes your company. Your recovery plan may be efficient and effective, but is it enough to prevent any disruptions to daily operations?

Sometimes, even losing a tiny bit of data can be enough to bring your business to a grinding halt. Even if operations aren’t noticeably impacted, issues will probably still pop up.

Hybrid cloud networking can add another layer of protection to your data recovery plan. You can easily duplicate data across multiple cloud environments. This redundancy can effectively minimize downtime and potential data loss.

Potential Challenges of Hybrid Cloud Networking

Nothing is perfect, including hybrid cloud networks. You may not run into any issues but it’s still a good idea to know a little bit about the potential downsides.

A common issue businesses run into is managing a hybrid cloud network. Remember, a hybrid cloud takes parts from public and private clouds. If you’re not used to both models, managing a hybrid cloud can be a little challenging. You may need to bring in outside talent, at least until your team is sufficiently trained. The addition of extra personnel can cancel out any savings you may get from a hybrid cloud network.

You may also need to purchase additional tools to access all of the resources in a hybrid cloud. You may only have the software for a public cloud which means you can’t take advantage of a private cloud.

Adding to your potential costs is upgrading your existing infrastructure. If your business is still using legacy machines, you may not be compatible with a hybrid cloud environment. Upgrading IT infrastructure is rarely inexpensive. This may be another cost to consider before transitioning to a hybrid cloud model.

Some businesses also run into data governance and compliance issues. While not common, it’s an issue that can come up. However, if you’re used to keeping all data in a private cloud, the switch to a hybrid model may not cause any issues with data compliance standards. Your staff will need training on which data can move from a private to a public cloud.

Taking Advantage of Hybrid Cloud Networking

Even though you can run into a couple of potential downsides, the advantages of a hybrid cloud typically outweigh them. Hybrid cloud networking is cost-effective, improves employee performance, and can even support your current data recovery plan. 

​​By balancing both public and private cloud environments, a hybrid cloud setup gives you the best of both worlds, making it an increasingly valuable solution for modern businesses.