Why the Hybrid Cloud Is Winning

By Michael Brown 1

While there is still plenty of debate over the best use cases for private versus public clouds, many companies are asking whether “Why not both?” is a better approach. Even if your practice today is just starting, with cloud-based file sharing, perhaps, there's room to look at this approach.

MSPs with clients that may have a bit more room in their cloud computing budgets are likely exploring the options of utilizing both private and public clouds, and in all honesty, it only makes sense. This Forbes article explains why hybrid cloud solutions are growing. We've expanded on it a bit to highlight some selling points for MSPs with clients interested in hybrid clouds:

“Using a private cloud allows them to keep that information in-house while gaining the flexibility of cloud technology. But sometimes companies need to increase their storage or speed up their data processing so they turn to the public cloud to gain extra capacity without having to buy extra hardware. Each has their limitations, which is why companies are combining the power of hybrid clouds to reap the benefits of both.”

Private and public clouds each have their own benefits and limitations, so why not capitalize on the use of both, to fill in the gaps of each other? That is exactly what many of your clients may be realizing. They can leverage public clouds for their larger data storage needs while saving resources, and simultaneously utilize private clouds for their more secure and varying needs. It is literally the best of both worlds. Assuming the client has the budget for multiple cloud providers, this is an extremely good tactic for MSPs to employ choosing cloud providers.

Ability to Pivot

“Businesses that previously made use of in-house storage and servers would put forth a plan and a budget and figure out how much space and money they would need to complete a project before starting it. Now, they are afforded much more flexibility to shape projects as they progress thanks to hybrid clouds.”

Businesses can take more risks experimenting with new projects thanks to hybrid cloud models. While before significant large scale projects would require massive budgets and plans for months or years, now a company at any point can simply call it off and scale down their computing resources if the project is going as they’d like it to. This ability to pivot ideas and adapt to a changing environment is highly desirable, and MSPs could capitalize on their abilities to make it a reality for their clients.

Hybrid is Simplifying IT

“75 percent of hybrid users stated ‘that their company’s IT processes are less complex after migration’.”

There are not many businesses that wouldn’t enjoy a simplified IT department. Cloud usage in general allows companies to eliminate large and complex server rooms (which require plenty of maintenance) and spreads the IT load across all aspects of the company. Sales, marketing, finance and other departments can all directly interact with cloud services and applications, reducing the strain of a centralized IT department.

Hybrid cloud models are becoming more and more prevalent amongst businesses around the world. MSPs that specialize in the cloud are likely already seeing this shift and should continue to embrace and capitalize on the growing number of benefits hybrid solutions provide.