Hybrid cloud hosting solutions are susceptible to various risks just as with public and private-only infrastructures. Knowing and understanding these risks is the first step to making the right decision in choosing your cloud solution. Here are a few scenarios where a hybrid solution might not be the best choice after all.
Tight Operational Budgets
Organisations operating on a tight budget or looking at cutting their IT infrastructure costs will struggle to implement a proper hybrid cloud solution. Companies should take into account the substantial private cloud investment which translates into high upfront costs of dedicated servers to store and process the data workload.
Furthermore, a public cloud hosting solution might be an adequate and preferable alternative to a hybrid or private cloud solution, specifically when the organisation does not require sensitive data manipulation.
Unwanted Levels of Complexity
Hybrid cloud solutions comprise of a multitude of cloud networks and data servers, which can add layers of complexity to the entire IT infrastructure. Organisations should be prepared to understand the different environments and how they interlink to bring the flexibility and scalability granted by a hybrid solution.
There is the risk of adding unwanted layers while expanding the existing infrastructure via a hybrid solution, creating more silos and points of managements. If the business uses a diversity of cloud environments, each servicing a different operation, the possibility of having various teams dedicated to every such platform (Google, Amazon, Azure, private clouds), increases. A coordinated team effort could be the answer in this case. Scaling back on the network complexity is another choice.
Major Security Risks
Finally, although the hybrid cloud has several advantages over the public-only cloud, there is still the same thwarted perception about privacy and security issues plaguing the public hosting environment.
Hybrid cloud solutions are ideally positioned to combine a private cloud interface with the cost-effective public cloud for additional storage or computing capabilities, leveraging control over such networks when needed. A connection to a public cloud could have unwanted security implications, depending on the organisation’s profile and data usage.
Ultimately, the hybrid cloud is an effective tool in adapting its network infrastructure to the organisation’s needs. With security being a non-negotiable factor, the use of public clouds can be at best minimised on an ad-hoc need basis only, while a private cloud network can address major operational workloads and sensitive data storage.
