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Over the last several years, the hybrid cloud has become one of the most talked-about developments in the cloud computing industry. A blend of both the public and private cloud models, the hybrid cloud has proved to be an effective tool for companies of all kinds. In its 2017 State of Cloud Adoption and Security study, McAfee found that hybrid cloud adoption among corporate entities surged from 19 percent to 57 percent between 2015 and 2016 alone.

Despite this dramatic shift toward the hybrid cloud, there are countless misconceptions surrounding the hybrid cloud and its various applications in business. Read on to explore—and dispel—a few of the most common myths about the hybrid cloud:

 

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The hybrid cloud eliminates data governance.

Many potential cloud users worry that they will lose control of their data and infrastructure by opting for a hybrid model. Typically, this fear stems from the idea of moving their data onto off-site servers that their cloud provider will control. These organizations may also have concerns about data governance as it relates to the migration of their data. In a hybrid cloud structure, will they have the ability to remove stored information from the vendor’s servers?

The hybrid cloud can afford the same—if not more—data governance than traditional cloud models. If you are not prepared to relinquish control of all your data, then you can maintain on-site servers to house your company’s most sensitive information. That’s the benefit of opting for a hybrid cloud solution. At the same time, you can store your less critical workloads and data in the public cloud. Whatever your organization’s needs, you can build a hybrid cloud solution that facilitates your desired level of data governance.

 

The hybrid cloud is separate from the public and private models.

As the hybrid cloud began to gain popularity, many users viewed it as a third type of cloud methodology that was separate from both the public and private models. However, the hybrid cloud is not so much a new form of cloud computing as it is a synthesis of the public and private clouds.

This is not to say that your company is relying on hybrid cloud infrastructure if it simply makes use of both of these models at the same time. Without proper orchestration and coordination between the two platforms, you cannot build a “true” hybrid cloud. In addition, the split between public and private isn’t always 50-50—some organizations may utilize half public and half private resources while others rely far more on a private cloud than a public one Whatever form the hybrid cloud may take at your company, optimal performance requires the integration of both public and private platforms to boost efficiency and mitigate risk.

 

The hybrid cloud requires you to abandon on-site infrastructure.

When moving from private cloud infrastructure to a hybrid model, it is easy to believe that you will need to abandon your entire in-house IT infrastructure. In fact, very few hybrid cloud users decide to give up their company-controlled data center completely in favor of a cloud-based one. According to the 2017 Uptime Institute Data Center Industry Survey, 65 percent of workloads are maintained in enterprise-owned data centers. Though countless organizations are moving to the public cloud, the use of enterprise-owned data centers has remained constant since 2014. In comparison, less than a quarter of enterprises have turned to cloud service providers for all of their data center needs.

These studies highlight the fact that it is never mandatory for you to get rid of your company-owned/operated infrastructure when migrating to the hybrid cloud. Though transferring all your workloads to a cloud service provider may boost reliability, it can be costly. In addition, it is far more beneficial that you opt for the hybrid cloud structure that best accommodates your unique business needs. By working with your provider, you can determine which workloads and IT assets should be moved to the public cloud, and which should be kept private.

 

 

The hybrid cloud isn’t reliable.

For years, there has been a misconception that the hybrid cloud delivers less reliability than more traditional cloud models. However, the combination of both the private and public cloud environments can actually enhance the reliability of your company’s assets.

With the hybrid cloud, your mission-critical workloads and applications are spread across multiple locations. This will enable you to run them as close to the end user as possible, which will deliver better resiliency. The hybrid model not only promotes the availability of cloud resources, but it also provides more reliable scalability than traditional platforms.

 

All hybrid clouds are the same.

Contrary to popular belief, the term “hybrid cloud” does not refer to a single type of infrastructure. In fact, every company utilizes this cloud model differently. Where your organization may need to make use of in-house servers for data storage, others may rely primarily on the public cloud for this purpose. You can choose where you place which assets, depending on what you need them for, how they interact, and what particular protections are required. There are even specially configured hybrid cloud models for organizations in different industries. Since the hybrid cloud model can accommodate the needs of any company, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.