When clouds collide
Many organizations are looking to migrate to the cloud, but recognize the transition doesn’t happen overnight. As a result, some companies have opted for a hybrid cloud approach, which involves a combination of on-premises, private cloud and public cloud services. This allows enterprises to take advantage of the cloud while holding onto their legacy systems. Nevertheless, embracing a hybrid cloud entails its share of complexities and challenges. Here are five practices to keep in mind when managing hybrid cloud environments.
Categorize applications
Before migrating to a hybrid cloud environment, it is important for IT managers to have a thorough understanding of the applications in their environment. Specifically, companies ought to determine which applications can run across both public and private clouds. This can help determine when and where to run applications.
Security
Equally important is to recognize the security risks that threaten hybrid cloud environments, and have the appropriate countermeasures in place. For example, organizations ought to be prepared to patch any security holes as needed. From the perspective of the application, it is important to identify management and security policies that provide authorized users access to applications. Companies also need to familiarize themselves with the appropriate encryption protocols to deal with the onslaught of encrypted traffic with hybrid cloud environments.
Single pane of glass
Hybrid clouds are more complex on account of consisting of more than one cloud. In addressing this complexity, IT managers can leverage a single pane of glass to combine information from applications and environments into a display. This can give companies a greater sense of control over different clouds from the same management console.
Different tools
A single pane of glass isn’t the only tool companies can leverage to make it easier to manage a hybrid cloud environment, however. Their a host of tools available covering various areas, including API management, resource management, DevOps management and more. Chef and Puppet, for example, are two popular specialized tools for configuration and management. RunDeck is another example of a tool that can enable users to operate procedures, define access controls and view activity reports through a single dashboard.
Costs
In addition to using a host of services, companies have been attracted to the cloud as a way to cut expenses. While it is true the cloud can reduce a business’s need for high-priced, proprietary hardware, it is also important to recognize that migrating an entire company to a cloud platform isn’t a free lunch. Although a hybrid cloud environment can help companies with cost management over the long-term, businesses should have a clear understanding of the financial front needed before making the transition.
For a rundown of some commonly purported myths about the cloud, click here.
