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Blog – The hybrid cloud offers the flexibility to keep sensitive data locally when it is desirable for compliance or architectural considerations, while at the same time the economies and innovation opportunities of the public cloud are used. This combination of scalability and safety is important for many companies, and even indispensable for organizations responsible for the vital infrastructure. But the hybrid cloud is not implemented and furnished overnight – everything starts with the right preparation. What questions do you ask before you start moving to the hybrid cloud?
- Why do we want to switch?
The first step in the preparation is to determine the motivation behind the switch to the hybrid cloud. Without a clear goal, there is a good chance that the implementation will be inefficient and chaotic, and, moreover, unnecessarily expensive.
- How do you get the goal sharp?
By developing a solid cloud strategy, which describes the objectives and desired results of the transformation. For this you need to properly understand the business goals and needs and have specific knowledge of, for example, risk management and business continuity. This ensures that a cloud strategy is not only technically feasible, but also supports the operational and strategic goals of the organization.
Think of business goals such as achieving competitive advantage or realizing an increase in efficiency. These can be translated into cloud goals, such as analyzing market trends, using automation options, flexibility and higher time to market. With that in mind you can plan the implementation and the final use of the hybrid cloud in a targeted way.
Armed with a clear cloud strategy, it’s time to think about the design of the hybrid cloud. Which applications should run in the private cloud, and which are better off in the public cloud? Legacy systems and critical or sensitive applications often remain in the private cloud for safety or compliance reasons. At the same time, scalable applications such as web services benefit from the flexibility of the public cloud.
To make that decision, you need to know what systems you already have at home. This is possible on the basis of a chain plates and a tEchnology Roadmapan overview of current applications, (legacy) systems and technological infrastructure. With such a map of the application landscape and their dependencies, it is better to estimate where applications can best run – and it is easier to see the risks of this. Once you have determined a timeline and destination for each application, the following question comes: how are you going to realize this?
Applications and systems are often located at different locations, may be outdated or not communicate well with each other. A challenge with the implementation of the hybrid cloud is therefore the integration of these various applications.
This challenge is the third step of preparation: developing an integration vision. This describes the approach to migration, including integrating various IT systems, applications and processes within an organization to a hybrid cloud environment. Such a vision is formed by putting priorities, mapping the right technologies and tools and elaborating the required steps tailored to the cloud goals. A clear framework such as the 6R model (rehost, replatform, refactor, repurrse, retire, retain) can give direction when determining the approach per application. It is also useful to consider integration tools and platforms that support you in this.
Good preparation
The switch to a hybrid cloud requires more than just technical knowledge. It requires a well-considered strategy, insight into your IT landscape and a clear approach to integration. By formulating clearly why you switch, what you place where and how you are going to do that, you lay a solid foundation.
Good preparation makes implementation more clear, more efficient and more successful.
Jochem van Lierop, CTO Conclusion Mission Critical
