Coughing, sneezing, shortage of breath; are you experiencing any or all of these symptoms when you hear the words “cloud computing?” You are not alone! Many people are coming forth as server huggers, better known as those who resist cloud computing or virtualization. Accustomed to being able to see and touch the physical hardware containing their data, server huggers cringe at the thought of trusting something they cannot see.
While this hesitation was previously understandable, what used to be known as a resource-eating, complex mystery, cloud computing has come a long way. The role of IT is no longer to select, install and oversee the technology within a business. A new landscape calls for a new, more flexible concept of IT. Cloud-based infrastructure allows you to quickly provision IT resources developed inside and outside of your organization. Benefits include increased CPU power, security, savings, and end-user freedom. The accessibility of data within the cloud is almost irrefutable. Who wouldn’t want a solution that is on-demand, self-serviced, and scalable?
For many, servers provide a sense of comfort, and change is hard. But cloud computing will not be denied. Workloads may not be completely floating up to the cloud just yet, but they are starting to slowly disappear into the virtual world. And with ever-increasing data volumes, it is illogical to think businesses will continue containing workloads on in-house servers alone.
With hybrid solutions on the rise, more and more businesses are beginning to trust the cloud. When the cloud hosting service incorporates appropriate physical, operational, and network security into the cloud infrastructure and delivery of its service, companies are assured that data protection will be as good as, if not better than, in their on-premise data center. The hybrid model provides a valuable approach to IT with its mix-and-match technique.
By definition, a hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment in which an organization provides and manages some resources in-house and has others provided externally. Specific aspects of IT are suitable for the public cloud, while others are not. For instance, public cloud has high levels of efficiency in shared resources. Although it serves as a great choice for company email, collaboration projects and the like, public cloud has a reputation of vulnerability in comparison to the private cloud. However, when combining the two in a hybrid cloud model, high levels of security and control are achieved. Private clouds, specifically, are best utilized by businesses that are highly reliant on data and applications, capable of running a next generation cloud data center, and in industries with strict data privacy issues. The hybrid cloud features a distinct advantage because it purposely cooperates with compliance issues, performance requirements, and security restrictions. Spreading things out over a hybrid cloud allows each aspect of business to safely live in its most efficient environment.
Considering evolving security risks and swelling data volumes, the server hugger community will eventually become the minority. Servers and physical hardware will soon collect dust next to an old cassette player, and your data will find its way dancing up to the cloud.