Hybrid Cloud Integration In 5 Easy Steps

 The hybrid cloud is attractive because customers can take advantage of the comprehensive capabilities of public cloud service providers while taking advantage of the provision of a private cloud for sensitive data and applications.

Linking Managed Cloud Services data and applications with traditional non-cloud business data and applications is also an important part of hybrid cloud deployments.

The benefits of hybrid cloud are obvious, but how do customers and organizations get there? What steps should you take to convert your existing IT structures to hybrid cloud environments?

As with any cloud deployment, there are differences in company size, IT maturity, and the degree of cloud adoption. However, the following seven steps are more or less universal:

1. Determine the cloud delivery model for applications and data.

Defining the right application and data delivery model is an important first step in using the hybrid cloud. There are four deployment options:

• On the premises
• Hosted private cloud
• Public cloud
• Combination of the above

The right delivery model adapts to IT and business needs and makes it easy to achieve these goals. The following decision criteria should be considered: flexibility, security, speed, automation, costs, location, service levels, and system dependencies.

2. Integration into existing business systems

When companies consider their hybrid cloud computing strategy, they will inevitably be asked to combine their existing internal IT investments with their newly introduced cloud services. When implementing new cloud services, the need to connect them to various local applications and systems becomes crucial.

Hybrid cloud customers need to understand the impact of these connections and apply best practices to address them:

Establishment of controlled interfaces through which components of cloud services with technologies such as API management can access applications and / or data on local systems.

Consider the administrative and business aspects of the integration, as well as the functional integration of the systems.

Require that cloud service providers support standards for their cloud service interfaces.

3. Address connectivity requirements

Hybrid cloud connectivity involves more than just communication between fuzzy components running in different environments. It is also crucial that the connectivity meets requested service levels, adheres to security guidelines, and enables the overall IT management strategy.

Therefore, hybrid cloud customers must carefully weigh their connectivity needs:

• Consider the requirements of any connection between components that span two or more cloud services or on-premises systems, and ensure that adequate connectivity is available to meet these requirements.
• Consider using network virtualization if available.
• Make sure that your connectivity features are compatible with your disaster recovery and resiliency requirements.

4. Develop governance guidelines and service agreements.

Cloud services that are combined to create a hybrid cloud computing environment require a customer-maintained governance framework that takes into account various cloud service agreements that have been made with service providers. As a result, hybrid cloud customers must perform due diligence to ensure that the use of cloud services is regulated effectively:

• Assessment of existing governance and compliance frameworks, identification of gaps and harmonization of processes.
• Ensure comprehensive and efficient change management and communication given the potential of multiple cloud service providers.
• Take enough time to teach and get used to change throughout the organization.
• Identify gaps in the visibility of measurement and management.

5. Assess and resolve security and privacy issues

Additional challenges for cloud customers when it comes to security and data protection for hybrid cloud provisioning are the interfaces between the different environments, the movement of applications and data between the environments, and the organized control of the assets within them. environments. Security must be applied consistently throughout the system.

Here are some key steps that hybrid cloud customers should take to ensure the security and privacy of their applications and data:

• Understand the interfaces between the components that run on private cloud services, public cloud services, and on premises, and apply appropriate and consistent security controls to each of those components.
• Evaluate the location of all data sets in your hybrid cloud deployment and ensure consistent encryption and access controls are in place.
• When migrating application components between environments, verify that the existing security controls for the new environment match or exceed the old.
• Apply technologies in all environments that are part of the hybrid cloud deployment, such as: B. a single IdAM system or single sign-on.