What Your Hybrid Cloud Strategy Checklist Should Include

The growth of hybrid cloud infrastructure

Hybrid cloud infrastructure boasts the best of all worlds and is now being adopted by 82% of IT leaders, according to the Cisco 2022 Global Hybrid Cloud Trends report. Hybrid cloud adoption and cloud computing are gaining popularity as companies seek to innovate and work on in-house digital transformation projects. In this growth, companies seek efficient, cost-effective cloud migration strategies to keep up with demand. While carrying out a strategic plan is difficult, to begin with, figuring out the list of items to keep in mind can be even harder. To make things a little easier, we’ve created an 8-step hybrid cloud strategy checklist to help you get started.

8 things you need in your hybrid cloud strategy checklist

Cloud migration

On a high level, planning your detailed approach to cloud deployment involves figuring out how you will move your application workloads that are currently on-premises or in a colocation data center, along with associated data, to the cloud. Because this could include multiple workloads or have various dependencies and complexities, planning a migration is not a one-and-done endeavor.

Instead, it is best done in parts. These parts can include making the plan and assessing what needs to be done for the migration, designing the plan, conducting a pilot project, and performing the actual migration. Taking an easily moved workload and migrating it to a public cloud can be a good test. It can teach you the process and prepare you for more intricate migration projects.

Also read: Top Hybrid Cloud Benefits to Drive Your Transformation

Disaster recovery

Disasters can come from human-made or natural causes. Depending on the disaster, the plan to handle it will look different. What processes do you have in place in case of disaster? Think about what might be inherent to your area. Earthquakes, power outages, hurricanes? To plan how you would need to react and recover from them.

A disaster recovery plan and cloud backup solutions are required to keep your business moving. The plan should detail how you regain access to your systems and get you back to a functional place after a disaster.

Security

IT Security is not solely the responsibility of a few qualified professionals at your organization. Instead, it is a responsibility shared across your business, made possible by everyone interacting with your infrastructure, workloads, and sensitive data. Your plan should include training on cybersecurity for end users that complements what cybersecurity professionals set up. Hybrid cloud security includes virtualization, software-defined networking (SDN), and application support across multiple data centers and hardware devices.

Interoperability

When adding different cloud platforms to your infrastructure, you shouldn’t create siloed systems that don’t communicate with each other. Cloud interoperability is all about making sure different systems collaborate and work effectively and efficiently across any cloud platform you might have. All of your workloads should be able to work together to achieve an intended outcome.

Compliance

Depending on your industry and the type of work you’re doing, you will have different regulatory standards you have to meet. Even though a modern cloud provider can offer many features, compliance with your specific regulatory standards might not be built in automatically.

You’ll need to confirm that your provider has the required certifications necessary to comply with whatever government policies apply to your organization to ensure you are in good standing and are protecting sensitive information adequately. Making choices related to compliance may also look like choosing the most appropriate platform for different workloads based on the level of compliance they can offer.

Workloads

Requirements for security, compliance, space, and consumption will vary depending on the workload. IT leaders need to consider interdependencies, requirements, and the best placement for workloads when reviewing current infrastructure. This will also help identify the right services for the job, whether it is public or private cloud, on-premises, or colocation services. Migrating to a hybrid cloud environment is likely to involve at least one workload migration – the movement of the workload from one infrastructure environment to another.

Management of operations and teams

After completing the heavy lifting, it’s time to examine the operational side of hybrid cloud migration. Any connections or systems that aren’t necessary to operations should be cleaned up. All moved workloads and data also need to be secure, optimized, and easy to retrieve from here on out.

You also need a team who can manage the day-to-day operations and one-off urgent situations that may arise. This may be something that you split up between in-house and outsourced providers, or you may use a cloud service provider entirely to manage your infrastructure. However you have it organized, make sure important roles are filled and there are no gaps that could cause problems down the line.

Planning for future growth and needs

Employing a hybrid cloud strategy shows that you are committed to a more flexible work environment that can shrink or grow with ebbs and flows in demand. While the cloud can be highly scalable, you should understand your agreement with your cloud provider. How easily can you size up demand when it spikes, and how often can you bring it back down to save on money and resources?

Scalability equals control over your data and your budget. The more automatic you can make this process, the more you’ll save in the long term.

Also read: 8 Reasons Why Hybrid IT is the Future of Data Centers

Next steps for your hybrid cloud strategy

Next, you’ll need to find the right cloud platform for your specific workloads. Did you know that some platforms work better than others? A Public cloud is great for apps that need to be rapidly deployed and scaled. A private cloud is great for instances where you need complete control over your assets or if you have strict industry compliance requirements for workloads.

We’ve put together a complimentary eBook with information on all cloud platform advantages and disadvantages. Read the guide below. Have questions? Contact our team today to learn more.