Implementing the right blend of hybrid IT solutions

Large and medium-sized organisations know that to compete with agile new players, they need to reassess their IT strategies and adopt innovative technology services that enable them to break free from entrenched practices, so that they can adapt and drive growth.

The right mix of private cloud, public cloud, managed cloud and traditional IT infrastructures are of particular interest at the moment – and a solution that delivers a hybrid infrastructure is proving to be the top choice for businesses. That said, IT is challenged with choice, in that there are a number of different ways to solve today’s tech challenges and the array of options can make it difficult to know where to begin. So knowing that there’s a need to change or adapt isn’t new, but businesses continue to be challenged around how to identify the right IT strategy that fits with their specific business needs. Let’s explore what options are on the table and how businesses can determine the best approach in the post-pandemic world.

Cloud vs on-premise

Cloud infrastructures – whether private, public or managed – provide some key advantages over traditional solutions. Economies of scale in deployment and enhanced agility and speed for end-users are significant benefits many organisations can harness to grow their business, improve the employee experience and compete with rivals. The increasing prevalence of IoT devices are also making cloud technologies ever more important in today’s connected world, with many supply chains adopting IoT en masse to enhance the efficiency of their operations. Organisations that make the transition to cloud-based models will reap the benefits of becoming a more data-driven business – including being able to deploy AI to solve various challenges. Modernising operations in this way will have far-reaching benefits for the overall growth of a business.

However, that isn’t to say that on-premise structures are not valuable when used in conjunction with an appropriate cloud strategy – and they certainly are not going away any time soon. On-premise solutions provide reliable security for stored data and applications, even if limited in the speed and flexibility they can provide to users. Although on-premise solutions offer a high degree of security, the notion that the cloud is less secure is an incorrect assumption. Cloud solutions can provide a high degree of protection but a security strategy must be all-encompassing and based on zero trust to avoid the pitfalls that come with shadow IT and other cybersecurity threats.

The case for hybrid

Hybrid solutions are typically software as a service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a service (PaaS). SaaS solutions can be delivered through vendors with cloud-based apps that have a broad spectrum of functions and usage is usually based on a subscription model. IaaS technologies are remote-hosted infrastructures which enable users to facilitate automation, run IT processes and store files and apps – with packages usually based on a combination of user seats. PaaS offerings are typically a mixture of SaaS and IaaS, providing both tools and infrastructure to businesses that want to host their own applications and optimise their software development timeline.

One of the core benefits of deploying a hybrid model is the scalability and agility gained from being able to provision applications in minutes, leading to enhanced employee productivity and less expenditure while maintaining a robust level of security. Furthermore, a hybrid scenario means that budget can be allocated to costs throughout the deployment (operational expenditure) as opposed to an outlay at the start (capital expenditure).

For the modern organisation, cloud has become impossible to ignore. Depending on the business or IT, leaders must consider the most appropriate hybrid IT strategy in order to provide a competitive advantage on organisations that are yet to embrace the shift, and to maintain pace with those that have.