What has cloud computing really made a point of discussion first and then popular? A promise, of course! Cloud Computing promises the flexible, scalable access to CPU, RAM and storage resources at the touch of a button, which should be as secure and powerful as proprietary systems. For a long time discussions in this context were conducted with cloud computing as an amorphous topic. The distinction between Private, Public and Hybrid Cloud was something for nerds. In the process, it was important from the outset to make a distinction in order to bring the right solution for potential application to potential users. It quickly became clear that not every kind of cloud provides the complete bouquet of services, as the basic idea of cloud at the beginning suggested. The effect was, unfortunately, that every single cloud form was occupied with a stereotype. Private Cloud: secure and reliable, but not so flexible and strictly not so „Cloud“. Public Cloud: super flexible and scalable, but totally unsafe and, if necessary, too slow. What about the Hybrid Cloud? In a closer understanding, it seems to bring with it all that one can hope for as a user. NetApp has put it to the test in its current Cloud Survey. In this context, 750 deciders in Europe were consulted on their attitude towards the cloud.
If Cloud, then Hybrid Cloud
The fact, in Europe the hybrid cloud actually represents the favored form of cloud computing. More than half of respondents said they were already using Hybrid Cloud-related applications in their business context. Focused on Germany, this has even been two thirds. When purchasing the services in turn, it is a pleasure to rely on local providers. Especially for the German market it can be observed that this provider form is preferred before big hyperscalers such as AWS or Microsoft Azure. Basically, it can also be said that hybrid cloud offers are used by small and medium-sized enterprises rather than start-ups and small businesses.
Safe, flexible and cost-efficient
But what drives users to ultimately rely on hybrid cloud models. According to the survey, the attributes security, flexibility and cost-cutting potential are very clear. Surprisingly, users can finally see that the shift in data processing to a cloud model can be extremely useful to increase security. Thus, a dangerous stereotype against the cloud approach is finally on the retreat. Less surprising, however, is the realization that security in handling data is a huge issue, especially for German companies. In this context, compliance requirements even play a subordinate role – the motivation of the deciders is intrinsic.
Workloads: backup and storage are the drivers
The question remains to clarify for which kind of workloads the cloud is actually perceived as helpful. The study from NetApp answers that this is essentially a matter of subordinate tasks such as backup, storage and archiving. Forward-looking analytics applications, disaster recovery issues, and SaaS applications are not as powerful as ever. Above all, corporations are at the forefront when it comes to operating the necessary applications directly in the cloud for the day-to-day business.
The story is not over yet
From the DARZ point of view the fundamentally positive developments around the perception and use of the hybrid cloud are absolutely welcome. However, as already mentioned in the introduction, the hybrid cloud of two years ago is no longer the hybrid cloud of today. This is because, in the past, many Cloud models were marked with the label „Hybrid“, but they were not actually. A true hybrid cloud is characterized by the fact that the workloads can be moved flexibly and more or less in the real-time between the private cloud, the public cloud and last but not least colocation approaches. This was only possible as NetApp and DARZ with their concept the separation between the central data pot and the CPU and RAM resources necessary for processing.
The story is not told at this point. The potential of the hybrid cloud platform lies well above the attributes of security, flexibility and low cost. The Hybrid Cloud Platform allows its users to design entirely new business models based on the storage, processing, and sharing of data. The forthcoming strategy paper on this issue gives you concrete insights into how they use this infrastructure to generate innovation and growth.
We’ll keep you up to date.