Research by IDC show that 90% of enterprises around the world are relying on a mix of on-premises, or dedicated, private clouds, as well as public clouds, and legacy platforms to meet their infrastructure needs. Data center cloud solutions need to change as business needs fluctuate. This episode covers the best practices of a hybrid cloud strategy featuring experts from Intel and Connection.
Host: James Hilliard
Guests:
• Vijay Bandari, Cloud Solution Architect at Intel
• Steve Fowler, Cloud Solution Architect at Intel
• Kiran Agrahara, Cloud Solution Architect at Intel
• Kevin Slate, Senior Director of Cloud Services and at Connection
Show Notes:
[1:07] Where are we on the hybrid cloud journey? Now is the time to plan for “deliberate” cloud. Many enterprises fell into cloud to support remote working, but it’s a great time revisit hybrid and multi-cloud to understand scalability, workloads, and how to create a bridge between public and private.
[4:20] What’s the difference between hybrid cloud and multi-cloud? Essentially, it’s a matter of where the data lives. Understanding your needs and data compliances that you are trying to achieve will shed light on which approach is best.
[6:30] Are there enterprises that won’t need to leverage cloud at all? The future of compute does involve cloud but it’s a long-term marathon and requires a strategy. Compliance and data governance are critical in driving the cloud strategy. Companies that aren’t looking at cloud are typically dealing with a skilling issue. Even if you don’t have the expertise to handle it, that shouldn’t make you avoid adopting the cloud. You need to ensure you have the right infrastructure to fit your business model.
[11:18] How should I reset the cloud strategy? Your cloud journey starts at analyzing your inventory, being aware of your assets and requirements, and understanding where your data should go.
[14:37] What should teams consider when looking at their data? Understand the data silos you have and the data governance and compliance requirements your business needs to meet. Also revisit why you are on-prem/off-prem in the first place.
[19:45] Is the cloud secure? What should be considered to minimize risks? Security is misunderstood when it comes to hybrid cloud. Not every CSP is compliant across all verticals. There is a shared responsibility as the hybrid cloud is an extension of your own enterprise. Cloud is not less secure than on-premise. It just requires different strategies and approaches. Hyperscalers are generally more secure, but there are nuances for all organizations. And understanding those is crucial to minimizing security risks.
[24:48] How do I future-proof my hybrid cloud? Cloud is a fluid solution so its innately easy to future-proof. Be agnostic and open to different architectures. Build a control plane to leverage evolving cloud feature sets while having manageability.
[30:17] What are additional considerations we should be planning for? From the leadership point of view, pick a primary strategic provider to reduce integration and operational complexities. Tier your providers by level of support and capabilities as an internal guide. Have a cloud workload placement policy in place so that new applications are placed with the appropriate provider and avoid splitting applications across different providers when possible.
[33:26] How can you set your hybrid cloud strategy up for success? Know your workload placement and applications. Costs should not be a key driver in a hybrid cloud strategy. Anticipate moving from one cloud to another as your applications may scale.
[36:26] There are tools and expertise available out there to guide you through the process. Look for a partner that not only understands your industry, but one that will also take the time to learn your business, review your data affinities, and work with you on short-term and long-term strategies.
For more, check out the Intel Data Center Modernization blog.
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