The demand for cloud technology is growing at an incredible pace. Even before 2020, companies recognised the cloud as a solution for scalability, cost savings, and expansion. Now that we know how crucial the cloud is to business continuity, the need for the right tools is greater than ever. IDC even suggests that more than 90% of enterprises will use a mixture of on-premises tools with dedicated private and public clouds by 2022. The promise of hybrid brings companies the best of both worlds, combining cost optimisation with flexibility, scalability, and reliability.
Of course, just like any major business transformation, the migration to the hybrid cloud can also come with its fair share of challenges. Here are some of the issues that companies may face when switching to the hybrid cloud.
Integrations
Creating a cohesive and efficient environment from a mixture of cloud and on-premises solutions requires some expertise. Companies need to be aware of how each of their resources work, to know where workloads need to be placed, and how infrastructure can support the right applications and tools. Not all applications will align perfectly out of the box.
Choosing a vendor with an open environment that offers room for growth and customisation will be a must-have in the hybrid landscape. Organisations today will need to consider how they can work with cloud companies to build the perfect solution for their needs.
Management and Monitoring
If your technology environment splits across multiple environments, including the on-premises space, the public cloud, and a private cloud, it’s often harder to bring all of those components together for a more clear vision of what really works. End-to-end monitoring and management is essential in any business, but that means working with a vendor that can connect all the disconnected components of your strategy.
Some organisations in the modern landscape can even choose vendors that will handle their monitoring strategy for them, with back-end solutions that can instantly identify any issues with customer service or communication tools.
Security and Compliance
A lot of businesses have specific regulations to follow when it comes to managing and storing data. Some organizations may need to keep certain pieces of customer information in a specific location, while others will need to be careful to ensure that they can access information at any time and make changes to it when necessary.
Managing compliance in a hybrid environment means building a customised strategy to dictate where each piece of information should be stored, from call recordings, to customer insights. The appropriate hybrid cloud strategy will often involve working with a vendor that can provide the right levels of data management, protection, security, and governance.
Scalability
Finally, people in a flexible hybrid environment don’t want to compromise on their options for customization and scale. A hybrid cloud strategy should support the business in accessing new tools and integrations from different vendors while maintaining the same consistent alignment.
Companies will need to ensure that the hybrid policies they build involve working with companies that have the best opportunities for flexibility and integration. Preventing cloud vendor lock-in can be crucial to ensuring that your operations continue to work as they should as your business evolves and grows.
