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As technologies advance and the needs of the consumer evolves, applications are being modified and developed to take advantage. Applications are taking an innovative approach to combat the continually growing threat of sophisticated cyberattacks, as well as creating new ways to maintain data security and comply with new regulations. New tech is constantly being released that is faster, more efficient, and (in some cases) more sustainable.
On top of ever-changing technology and consumer needs, business needs are constantly changing as well. Recently, the use of technology in the customer experience has been a major driving force in the change of business needs, and currently, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a completely unforeseeable environment where business needs have had to rapidly and drastically shift. In a nutshell, as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Change is the only constant in life.”
The simplest answer to the need to keep up with these changes is to utilize the cloud. The cloud allows businesses to easily pivot and adapt to new technologies and consumer demands. The cloud also enables businesses to benefit from scalable resources and reduced costs — since the norm for the cloud is to only pay for what you use. Additionally, cloud computing allows businesses to give their employees the ability to access business-critical applications and business operational tools from remote locations, as well as upload and share data easily, anywhere to keep everyone instantly connected.
More Is Needed
However, while the public cloud brings many benefits, it is not the solution for all the evolving business needs. Legacy apps, compliance requirements, and other factors may mean that certain applications and data end up remaining in existing on-premises data centers — because of this, other IT environments need to be explored.
A private cloud is a possible alternative or addition to the public cloud. The private cloud is similar to the public cloud but is only accessible via a private internal network and only to select users. Having limited access means that it is easier for businesses to meet specific security and governance requirements. The private cloud can also help businesses that are located (or have customers that are located) in remote areas with limited access to public cloud providers. This issue can lead to major latency problems and slow down access to applications — utilizing a private cloud can relieve this issue.
Colocation is a type of data center where equipment, bandwidth, and space can be leased. While some businesses may be ready to close down their on-premise data center, colocation can be another good solution for combating ever-changing business needs. Colocation allows for the benefit of a data center — such as having a backup site for data — without the burden of escalating capital expenses for space, security, and maintenance. It is also the norm for colocation facilities to offer flexible network options that allow for businesses to choose the best network option for their needs.
The More, the Merrier
The need to adopt the correct technology to keep up with constant change has led us to hybrid IT. Hybrid IT is a strategy that entails using different IT environments — this can be a combination of an on-premise private cloud, a hosted private cloud, a public cloud, an off-site colocation facility, or, more than likely, a mix of data center and cloud environments.
The key benefit of a hybrid IT environment is workload optimization — this is when the IT environment implemented allows applications to achieve maximum performance. However, there are other benefits to a hybrid IT environment. For example, this type of environment allows for a business to add the cloud to your IT services portfolio without having to deal with the task of moving all their data to the cloud. Therefore, this allows them to avoid allocating a large sum of their budget to cloud migration.
Partnering Up
While a hybrid IT environment is possible to achieve alone, especially if it’s a case of just adding the cloud, working with a cloud services provider (CSP) could make the transition easier by adding greater value through its expertise and guidance.
Most importantly, an efficient CSP can offer information and insights on the many issues a business may face with various IT environments and guide a business to the best hybrid solution for their needs.
The demand for faster and safer technology is only going to continue to grow, and along with this, we will see customer demands and business needs change as well. A hybrid IT environment enables a business to be prepared to tackle these changes and scale as needed. When transitioning to a hybrid IT environment, there are several things to consider, including costs, performance optimization, integration, compliance requirements, security, latency, connectivity, and disaster recovery planning. Utilizing a CSP helps to avoid potentially expensive missteps.