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Hybrid cloud management the substance beneath “hybrid cloud” hype

The hype surrounding hybrid cloud may suggest that it’s a paradigm-shifting idea. But combining internet-based services with private cloud resources is not revolution, it’s simply responsible: It rarely makes sense to swap an entire technology stack into the public cloud, but the advantages of hosted SaaS and commoditized infrastructure are not usually worth foregoing entirely. As an ITBusinessEdge article points out, just about all cloud computing will be hybrid cloud computing.

If nearly all cloud scenarios will be hybrid in some way or another, simply identifying the type of cloud is no longer important. More significant than identifying a cloud type is the discussion about hybrid cloud management: What’s the best way to maintain control over data and applications while still making use of cloud technology? For many observers integration is paramount.

Observers say hybrid cloud management defined by integration

For Lori MacVittie, Hybrid cloud is about integrationmore than application deployment method. In a piece previously mentioned on this site, she writes that hybrid cloud exists where the enterprise retains control over applications and infrastructure, but makes use of public resources. Such a balance can only be achieved with conscientious integration practices: The amount of control required will differ from application to application and between organizations.

In an interview also linked to on this site, Rick Nucci of recently-acquired Boomi affirms the importance of hybrid cloud integration. Nucci believes that comprehensive and centralized governance is key. Says Nucci: “The ability to go to one location, to have visibility into all of the integrations running across your enterprise… will continue to be critical to the success of companies as they’re rethinking their integration strategies in the cloud.”

David Linthicum takes a deeper look into hybrid cloud integration and migration. He suggests that hybrid cloud management is defined by systems architecture. He divides hybrid cloud architecture into 4 core categories: Static placement, assisted replication, auto migration, and dynamic migration. He believes that dynamic migration, where virtual machine instances can alternate between public and private clouds as if in a single operating system, is the functional objective of the hybrid cloud model.

In another article, Mr. Linthicum points out the importance of data integration in hybrid cloud management. He writes in post written for the Pervasive Software blog: “Data integration, for instance, does not occur automatically. You have to consider common sets of semantics that exist between private and public clouds, and then the mechanisms leveraged to synchronize the data.”

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Hybrid cloud management resources and advice

The future belongs to hybrid clouds (ITBusinessEdge)

Author Arthur Cole claims that top thinkers in the field “are in near universal agreement that the most likely scenario for the foreseeable future is that of a hybrid cloud environment,” and provides quotes from industry leaders to back it up.

Architectural requirements of the hybrid cloud (information management)

In this article, Brian J. Dooley provides diagrams of how a private cloud should be arranged and bulleted lists of hardware requirements and challenges to consider when evaluating hybrid cloud options and opportunities.

Cloud requires security diligence (CIO Update)

Author David Needle talks to Symantec executive Deepak Mohan about the importance of security in hybrid cloud management.

Hybrid cloud computing best practices (channelinsider)

This visual slideshow (no download needed) provides 11 tips for creating a hybrid cloud. Recommended are standardized workloads, thorough risk analysis, and preparing for mobility and automation.

Evaluating the private cloud vs. the public cloud (ITBusinessEdge)

In this guest post, DynaSis Integrated Systems president David Moorman describes how the hybrid cloud environment “gives businesses that are not ready to switch over [to cloud] the best of both worlds.”