A hybrid cloud is a computing environment comprising a mix of on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud services that coordinate between the platforms. It’s designed to give organizations greater control over their data and applications by creating a balance between the need for the scalability of public cloud services and the security of private cloud or on-premises infrastructure. It’s especially useful for businesses that have changing or unpredictable workloads and for those with unique requirements for compliance, data handling, or storage that a single cloud setup is unable to satisfy.
Hybrid cloud's defining feature is the ability to integrate private and public clouds, allowing data and applications to move between them as needed. This fluidity improves deployment options, increases the efficiency of data management, and optimizes costs by ensuring each aspect of the business's operations is hosted in the most appropriate environment. In hybrid cloud architectures, on-site or private cloud servers provide security and compliance for sensitive operations, while a public cloud handles the less sensitive elements, which is more cost-effective. As such, hybrid cloud computing is a major pathway to digital transformation and a strategic tool that aligns IT infrastructure with business goals.
