Hybrid hosting – buzzword or best practice?

For modern businesses to grow, they need fast, reliable and highly scalable hosting solutions. The problem is, shared and cloud-based hosting solutions have traditionally been flawed by limited control and security issues. And in-house dedicated hosting is more expensive and difficult to scale than off-site hosting. But that’s where hybrid hosting comes in – combining the power of a dedicated host with the flexibility (and cheapness) of public cloud hosting.

A new way to host

Hybrid hosting is one of the most exciting new trends in IT – allowing your business to rapidly grow its hosting capabilities, while still having complete control over mission-critical applications.

It works by combining in-house dedicated hosting with fully managed public cloud hosting. This means your company can use each solution for your applications to excel in. For example, you might keep sensitive user data on dedicated servers behind the corporate firewall, while testing apps are hosted off site. Basically, this means fewer overheads and continued control.

The two basic models

With so many businesses embracing hybrid hosting, it’s worth wrapping your head around the finer details. So here’s a closer look at the two models used:

• Service-interfaced based: This model uses an appliance to offer a list of services to the user, which then redirects them to either an internal or external service – depending on the application.
• Infrastructure-based: This model uses existing internal IT resources as a foundation, with an appliance or software acting as a bridge to the external cloud. This option is best for organisations with existing in-house IT infrastructure.

How common is hybrid hosting?

Organisations are starting to catch on to the benefits – as it allows them to experiment with cutting edge IT techniques. These days, you’ll find that hybrid approaches are commonly used:

• To cover legacy gaps, which means companies can replace old systems gradually
• To move applications off-site, or on-site with relative ease
• To take advantage of the public cloud’s scalability to transition into new applications
• In e-commerce – web applications such as internal retail usually have public-facing web assets, as well as critical data stored on-site.

What are the challenges?

Hybrid hosting isn’t without its difficulties – especially when it comes to implementation. Connecting your in-house infrastructure with public cloud services can be challenging, and there might be some concern about how you’ll land and manage new cloud services. Plus, if the approach is purely reactive, the costs might go up and your control over systems can become tricky. That’s why it’s so important to have a clear plan before going ahead.

A closer look at the benefits

Here’s why hybrid hosting could be the right option for you:

• It’s cheaper – you can take advantage of off-site hosting, while still maintaining on-site hosting when it’s needed or is more cost effective.
• Better scalability – the public cloud is very flexible. You only pay for the resources you use, so they can grow at their own pace – without worrying about the fixed costs of adding new users.
• Better security – you can keep your most sensitive data and mission critical applications on-site (behind the corporate firewall), while using the public cloud for less critical applications.

Ready to make your business grow?

We help all types of businesses set up their hybrid cloud. Our dynamic platform is simple, smart and flexible – allowing you to build a hybrid environment that meets your unique needs.

Just call us on 1800 004 943 or submit an online enquiry. We’re here to help.