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How to Find the ‘Perfect Hybrid’ For Your Enterprise

‘We rushed into the cloud. It’s not necessarily the answer.’

Photo of the AWS logo at a conference
Photo by Web Summit via CC BY 2.0

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Cloud strategies aren’t one-size-fits-all. 

Though cloud services undoubtedly have their benefits, this method of storage may not be  effective or useful for all situations. Figuring out the balance of cloud versus on-premises data and systems isn’t always simple for enterprises.

“It’s this constant back and forth, going in and then egressing back out, on top of the other issues – compliance issues, data security issues, performance issues – that makes companies go, ‘We rushed into the cloud. It’s not necessarily the answer. What is the perfect hybrid deployment?” said Trevor Morgan, senior vice president of operations at OpenDrives

So how did this tug-of-war begin in the first place? “Data is the coin of the realm,” said Morgan. As data has grown more valuable, some have pulled back on their cloud strategy in a move towards “data repatriation,” he said. “It is being dictated by that desire to have control over the thing of value.” 

This movement, however, requires enterprises to spend money beefing up their own infrastructure, said Morgan. The AI boom has added another dimension to the problem: “If you keep pulling everything on-site, how are you going to use the kinds of resources needed to drive AI? Or can you find that balance so that you can take advantage of emerging AI – much of it right now is cloud-based?”

There are three main factors to keep in mind when figuring out your enterprise’s place in this back-and-forth: price, performance, and security, said Morgan. 

  • Let’s start with cost. Though cloud can certainly be a cheaper alternative to the capital expenditures of building your own infrastructure and equipment, cloud’s expenses can add up quickly, said Morgan. Depending on how much access your enterprise needs to certain data or software, “it may not necessarily be cost effective in the long run,” he said. 
  • Performance considerations may differ depending on the industry, said Morgan. Any company that’s consistently accessing “very large data sets,” like entertainment, finance or AI, has to ask itself, “Where does the data need to be in relation to the workloads? What movement does this allow my data?” Putting that data into the cloud may be akin to putting something you use every day into the attic, he added.
  • And finally, security and compliance go hand in hand when considering where your data should live. While major cloud providers generally have strong data security measures, consider the data regulations where your company is operating as well as the sensitivity of the data you’re working with, Morgan said. 

“The perfect hybrid takes into consideration those different dimensions and determines the rules by which we look at data sets and workflows and workloads and gauges the best place for the data to live,” he said. 

Putting this into practice at your own enterprise could be as simple as watching and learning. Rather than being an early adopter of the newest trends in cloud and data centers as a knee-jerk reaction, “Get with your CIO, get with your data architects, your workload workflow experts, and think through and put together a plan,” he added. 

“Before you act, plan. I don’t see enough planning going on,” said Morgan. “Most companies feel that action in and of itself indicates progress, that it says something to the shareholders. But are you doing it for the appearance of activity, or are you doing it for the right reason?”