Abstract
Cloud technology is no longer a new or unfamiliar concept for most organizations. The way people think about the cloud has significantly changed. These days, rather than questioning the benefits of using cloud services, organizations are more likely to wonder why they shouldn't be using them. The advantages of cloud computing over traditional data centers—like better flexibility, higher reliability, and easier maintenance—are widely recognized.
However, organizations still struggle with the practical aspects of adopting cloud technology. They're often stuck at the first step, asking questions such as, "Should we get rid of our existing IT infrastructure?" or "How do we decide which workloads are best suited for the cloud?" It's a challenge to find the right balance between using current resources and fully transitioning to cloud services.
Fortunately, there's a solution that offers the best of both worlds: Hybrid Cloud. This approach allows organizations to keep some of their IT operations in-house while also taking advantage of the benefits that cloud technology offers. This way, they don't have to choose between abandoning their existing infrastructure and adopting new cloud-based solutions; they can do both.
What is a Hybrid Cloud Architecture?
A hybrid cloud is a computing architecture that integrates both on-premises/private cloud infrastructure and public cloud services. This setup allows organizations to seamlessly manage workloads across both environments, providing greater operational flexibility.
Cloud Adoption Strategies
Organizations adopt cloud computing in various ways, depending on their specific needs and constraints:
- Cloud-First Strategy: Some organizations prioritize cloud computing, moving the majority of their workloads to the cloud for enhanced performance and manageability.
- Phased Adoption: Other organizations take a more cautious, incremental approach to cloud adoption. They may keep certain workloads on-premises due to data sensitivity, latency issues, or other operational considerations.
The Role of Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Adoption
A hybrid cloud solution can serve as a controlled way for organizations transitioning to the cloud. It offers the ability to strategically allocate workloads to the most appropriate platforms—whether that's on-premises or in the cloud. This makes it easier for organizations to phase out on-premises systems when appropriate or choose to maintain them for the long term. As such, hybrid cloud is often a natural stage in cloud adoption but can also serve as a long-term solution.
Challenges of “Heterogeneous” Hybrid Cloud Architectures
While hybrid cloud is becoming standard practice, organizations are predominantly adopting what we call a “heterogeneous” hybrid cloud architecture. In this setup, the on-premises and cloud infrastructures are built on different technology stacks. While this offers flexibility, it also introduces several challenges:
- Steep Learning Curve: Managing different cloud platforms, each with its own set of features and requirements, adds a layer of complexity. Staff members need to familiarize themselves with multiple systems, making proficiency difficult to achieve.
- Security and Compliance Inconsistencies: With multiple platforms in play, standardizing security protocols and compliance measures becomes complicated. Each environment may require its own unique set of policies, making it challenging to maintain consistency.
- Fragmented Monitoring and Logging: The use of varied technology stacks hinders the ability to consolidate logs and monitoring data into a unified view. This fragmentation complicates real-time analysis and fault response.
- Management Complexity and Cost: Operating multiple clouds often requires separate management portals, adding to the operational complexity. This results in increased costs related to configuration, orchestration, governance, and ongoing optimization.
Sangfor Unified Hybrid Cloud
Sangfor introduces a new hybrid cloud architecture called Unified Hybrid Cloud. In this architecture, both the private and public clouds (Sangfor Managed Cloud) are built on the same infrastructure (Sangfor Hyperconverged Infrastructure) and technology stack. This approach offers several advantages:
- Short Learning Curve: Teams need to familiarize themselves with only a single management interface and configurations, reducing the time required for training and adoption.
- Unified Security and Compliance: Operating on a single platform enables easier management of security and compliance policies, ensuring consistency across both on-premises and public cloud environments.
- Efficient Resource Allocation: The unified infrastructure allows for seamless migration of data and easy resource scaling between on-premises and cloud environments.
- Consistent User Experience: Users benefit from a uniform experience thanks to a standardized user interface, which remains the same across both cloud environments.
Sangfor Unified Hybrid Cloud Use Cases
Application Migration: Sangfor Unified Hybrid Cloud enables the seamless transition of applications from on-premises data centers to Sangfor Managed Cloud. The platform offers a uniform operational environment, enabling the use of identical tools, services, and APIs in both environments. This ensures a controlled, phased migration process while maintaining operational consistency and performance.
Hybrid Workload Deployment: In a hybrid cloud setup, workloads can be strategically deployed to either on-premises or cloud infrastructure based on considerations like performance, security, and compliance. This approach allows organizations to maximize the benefits of both types of infrastructure, providing flexibility and resource optimization.
Data Privacy: For organizations that handle highly sensitive data, such as government agencies or healthcare providers, a hybrid cloud model is ideal. It enables the deployment of applications in the public cloud while keeping sensitive data securely stored on-premises for enhanced control and regulatory compliance.
Data Sovereignty: Sangfor Managed Cloud operates from local, in-country data centers, unlike the internationally distributed data centers used by hyperscale public cloud services. This makes Sangfor Unified Hybrid Cloud particularly well-suited for organizations that need to comply with local data sovereignty laws while also taking advantage of public cloud benefits.
Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery: Sangfor Unified Hybrid Cloud provides a cost-effective and efficient means for data and application backup. The managed cloud serves as an off-site location for data backup and failover for disaster recovery. This off-site strategy reduces the risk of data loss and ensures business continuity during outages.
Cloud Bursting: During periods of peak demand, Sangfor Unified Hybrid Cloud allows for a temporary extension of your on-premises infrastructure into the managed cloud. This capability enables dynamic resource allocation to applications as needed, ensuring optimal functionality.
Conclusion
As organizations increasingly turn to cloud computing, the question is no longer whether to adopt cloud technology but how best to do so. Sangfor Unified Hybrid Cloud offers a compelling solution that leverages the same technology and local cloud services to address key concerns such as operational complexity, data privacy and sovereignty, offering a balanced solution for effective workload deployment. Whether your organization is in healthcare, government, or another sector with stringent requirements, this platform enables a seamless, compliant, and cost-effective transition to the cloud.
