EDITOR’S QUESTION
Remember, public cloud isn’t necessarily
cheaper if you are going to run a workload
24x7 and some applications are still not
supported to run on public cloud. You
should also be sure about where your
backups will run in order to avoid expensive
and, perhaps, unexpected exfiltration
network charges from public clouds.
Adopt a security-first mindset
Think of public cloud as the best-stocked
tool shop that you’ve ever had the
pleasure to use. You can have the best
tools in the world, but if you don’t know
how to deploy and continually govern
them, your data will be less secure than if
you simply retain it on-premises.
In recent years, security has moved from
being an Achilles heel for public cloud
deployments to a genuine advantage.
DAMON CRAWFORD,
AZURE PRACTICE
DIRECTOR, SIX
DEGREES
he latest hybrid cloud
technology is enabling
today’s organisations to
achieve amazing things:
empowering their people
to achieve brilliance
in everything they do; bringing services
closer to end-users than ever before; and
driving success in a world that is becoming
increasingly complex, connected and
competitive. However, in order to harness
the potential of hybrid cloud, it is important
that you plan and execute the transition
from your current infrastructure carefully.
There are three key pieces of best practice
advice that we would offer to organisations
looking to implement a hybrid IT model.
T
Be clear on your goals
Are you introducing a hybrid cloud model
to facilitate an eventual cloud-native
www.intelligentdatacentres.com
Public cloud delivers much greater insight
and control over your data. You will have
the ability to pull that control and visibility
back to your workloads that remain on-
premises, giving you a holistic view of
what’s truly going on in your environment.
architecture? Or will you maintain part
of your infrastructure on-premises long
term? Your goals will influence both
your architecture and your security
considerations for sensitive data.
THINK OF PUBLIC
CLOUD AS THE
BEST-STOCKED
TOOL SHOP
THAT YOU’VE
EVER HAD THE
PLEASURE TO
USE.
Maximise performance
Consider latency – separating workloads
geographically can have a huge impact
on users’ perceived performance. It is
imperative to understand application
dependencies and keep those workloads
as close to each other wherever possible.
Consider using dedicated links such
as ExpressRoute or Direct Connect to
maintain reliable and high availability
connections between the various parts of
your IT estate.
Consider working with a partner to
help you through the initial stages of
your hybrid cloud adoption. Each major
public cloud vendor has their own Cloud
Adoption Framework, but although they’ll
give you a great start, they rarely provide
the whole picture.
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