Hybrid Cloud: How to Get the Best of Both Worlds

In the early 2020s, the narrative was "Cloud First." Everyone rushed to move everything to Azure or AWS. Then, the bills arrive, and the latency issues started. Now, the mature strategy is Hybrid Cloud.

Hybrid Cloud is not an intermediate step; for many businesses, it is the final destination. It combines the control and speed of on-premise hardware with the scalability and accessibility of the public cloud.

Common Hybrid Scenarios

1. The "Split Workload"

• On-Prem: Your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software and heavy SQL databases run on a local server. This ensures 0ms latency for the finance team entering orders.
• Cloud: Your Email (Exchange Online), File Sharing (SharePoint), and Teams run in Microsoft 365.
• Result: Fast local performance for critical apps, remote access for collaboration apps.

2. High Availability (HA) Disaster Recovery

• Primary: Your office server handles daily operations.
• Secondary: A "warm standby" replica of your server lives in the Azure Cloud.
• Scenario: If your office catches fire or loses power for 3 days, you "failover" to the Azure copy. Staff can log in from home and keep working.
• Cost: You pay a small storage fee for the replica, and only pay for the high compute costs if you actually turn it on.

3. Cloud Bursting

• Scenario: An architecture firm renders 3D models. 90% of the time, their local workstations are fine.
• The Burst: During a project deadline, they spin up 50 high-powered virtual machines in the cloud for 48 hours to render the video, then shut them down.
• Result: Infinite power when needed, zero capital cost for idle hardware.

IAM: Identity and Access Management

The key to Hybrid is Single Sign-On (SSO). You do not want users having Password123 for their desktop and Welcome2023 for their email.

• Azure AD Connect: This tool syncs your local Active Directory with Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD).
• The Experience: A user changes their password on their office PC (Ctrl+Alt+Del). It instantly updates their Microsoft 365, VPN, and Salesforce login.

Security Challenges

Hybrid increases the "attack surface." You now have to defend your office and your cloud tenant.

• VPNs: Ensure secure tunnels between your office firewall and your cloud network (Site-to-Site VPN).
• Conditional Access: Block logins to your Cloud resources from countries where you don't do business.

Is Hybrid Right for You?

If you have legacy applications that "don't like the internet" but a workforce that demands remote work, Hybrid is the answer. It requires skilled architecture to prevent it from becoming a disjointed mess.