The Right Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure for 5 Different Industries

A hybrid cloud infrastructure is one that uses a combination of public and private cloud services and on-premise resources.

It allows the user to take advantage of the benefits of both public and private clouds along with the existing architecture in a data center.

Here are some typical use-case for hybrid cloud infrastructure:

• Separating workloads: Using an easily scalable public cloud for fast-changing workloads and leaving less dynamic workloads in an on-premise data center.
• Separating sensitive workloads: Storing sensitive financial data and customer information in a private cloud and using a public cloud to run less sensitive applications.
• Big data processing: Performing big data analytics in a public cloud, while processing sensitive big data in a private cloud.
• Moving to the cloud: Putting some of your workloads in a public cloud as a trial and gradually expanding your presence on both public and private clouds.
• Temporary processing needs: Using public cloud resources for short-term projects at a lower cost than your own data center. 

5 Common Hybrid Cloud Use Cases

Here’s a fresh look at how the hybrid cloud is impacting healthcare, finance, government, education, and retail.

1. Healthcare

The healthcare industry faces a range of critical IT challenges including the need for increased security against hackers trying to access valuable patient information.

Healthcare organizations also face increasingly stringent privacy and compliance requirements to protect sensitive patient data.

Being able to freely share data is also a major priority, with remote diagnoses, patient monitoring and real-time collaboration between medical professionals now a digital reality.   

The combination of public and private cloud resources offered by a hybrid cloud infrastructure gives the healthcare sector the measures it needs to protect patient data, meet compliance regulations and also move data freely between stakeholders,  

2. Finance

Thanks to its power, flexibility, connectivity, and scalability, a hybrid cloud infrastructure can benefit the financial services sector in a number of ways

Using public cloud resources, financial institutions can significantly expand their existing infrastructure without a significant cost. And they can do this while keeping sensitive data on-premise, to satisfy compliance requirements.

They can also take advantage of new cloud services without having to rewrite applications, allowing them to bring out new financial products and services at a low cost. A hybrid cloud infrastructure can also assist with their disaster recovery, allowing crucial data to be safely backed up on-premise at all times. 

3. Government

Governments are moving to embrace cloud-based services, but it takes time for internal cultural barriers to be overcome and legacy systems to be adapted or replaced.

The public cloud option in a hybrid cloud infrastructure offers government agencies a way to bring new applications and services online quickly and more cheaply than on-premise development.

Early government implementation of hybrid infrastructure involved keeping sensitive data on-premise and moving everything else to the cloud.

But today, some government agencies are adopting a more sophisticated approach, placing workloads on the best platform for their needs and budgets and building multi-cloud environments that are tailored to their specific requirements. 

4. Education

Hybrid cloud use is transforming education by eliminating the need for expensive textbooks and on-premise hardware and by providing easier accessibility to learning, greater mobility, and more collaboration opportunities.

Hybrid cloud deployments are proving highly effective in meeting the needs of universities by allowing them to upgrade their communication and learning systems without massive investment in infrastructure.

And they can do so while maintaining high levels of security to meet their privacy and intellectual property obligations.

Hybrid cloud systems also allow them to cost-effectively launch innovative new courses and learning materials and attract and retain high caliber teachers and students in a highly competitive marketplace.  

5. Retail

More than any other sector, retailers understand the importance of using the latest applications to ensure optimal customer experiences. And that’s why retailers are increasingly moving to hybrid cloud solutions.

There are many benefits of a hybrid cloud in retail. For one thing, it helps retailers meet consumer demand for personalization, while also ensuring data security and consistent experiences across channels.

A hybrid cloud infrastructure can also be scaled easily during high-traffic periods and allows retailers to leverage powerful data analysis to help create products their customers want.

Hybrid cloud also gives retailers greater real-time visibility into their inventory levels, which can increase their sales and help to solve cash flow problems.

Final Thoughts 

The use of cloud technologies is no longer optional for most organizations, as pressures to compete and to satisfy growing customer expectations make digital transformation an essential step.

But thanks to the emergence of the hybrid cloud solution, they are now able to have the best of both worlds. A hybrid cloud solution is the perfect combination of public and private resources. It maximizes cost savings and minimizes privacy and security concerns and as we’ve seen here, it provides innumerable benefits for many major industries.