Most organizations have adopted a cloud strategy by this point but most probably can’t go back and pinpoint how the adoption happened. Some started with one application only and slowly adopted more and more over time, leaving them with an accidental hybrid cloud strategy. Whether you go hybrid cloud accidentally or intentionally, you need a strategy to measure and ensure its success.

Even if you adopted hybrid cloud solutions unintentionally, it is not too late to put a strategy in place. Here are some steps you can take to build a strong hybrid cloud strategy:

  1. Develop your strategy: It is never too late. You should have a long-term strategy, incorporating your company’s portfolio of cloud services and data center resources and what you envision for the future.
  2. Bridge past and future technologies: How will you make decisions about what to run where?  How do you manage legacy systems with cloud technologies?  You need to consider cost, performance, security, compliance, resources, etc. You will need to develop criteria for when legacy no longer makes sense.
  3. Improving business processes and culture:  Your strategy should consider the results of an extensive audit of existing processes, solutions, and systems. A successful strategy will be connected to the bigger picture of your IT team and the larger organization in which it operates.
  4. Define/monitor variables: As you scale up and down, you need to also consider costs and performance. Is cloud the better option in each case vs. on-premise? What is running your legacy system really costing you? What does it have the potential to cost you?
  5. Open tools: What tools will you use to build and manage everything? What do you already have in place and where are the gaps? Using standardized, open tooling across multiple platforms or environments is crucial. This is where having an unintentional hybrid cloud strategy can cause unintelligent consequences. Some tips here include choosing a standard and open cloud platform, choosing simplified and open networking and security platforms that work across public and private clouds, and be selective with your monitoring and analytics tools so you can get an end-to-end view.

Microsoft Azure is an example of a public cloud, where all hardware, software, and other supporting infrastructure is owned and managed by the cloud provider. You access these services and manage your account using a web browser. 2W Tech is a technology service provider specializing in solutions for the manufacturing industry. We are a Microsoft Gold Partner and big supporter of the Azure cloud. We can help your organization build your hybrid cloud strategy, while introducing the benefits Microsoft Azure can bring to your organization. Contact us today to get started.

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