What are Microsoft Azure Hybrid Cloud and the benefits?

Hybrid cloud in Azure provides edge and multi-cloud environments for companies to benefit from various cloud innovations, undertake remote work and maximize the return on IT investments. Successful deployment of hybrid cloud is of high importance for handling peak loads and doing disaster recovery.

What is Azure Hybrid Cloud?

Hybrid cloud computing environment combines the public cloud with private cloud or on-premise data centre for file and document sharing. Hybrid cloud, as part of its cost-effective migration strategy, helps scale the data centres to cloud.

This data centre technology ensures cost controls, data security and efficient business workflows with secure data and application sharing.

Hybrid cloud often includes multi-cloud configurations as an organization deploys one or more private and public clouds. Azure hybrid cloud also provides the flexibility of moving from private cloud to public clouds, as you exhaust all your on-premise resources.

Who are the Potential Users of Hybrid Cloud in Azure?

Hybrid cloud in Azure is a prerequisite for many businesses for two important reasons- security and scalability. 

In one way, it can be said that cloud hybrid is critical for companies with a combination of sensitive data that needs to be protected and less sensitive information related to the workflow. Take, for instance, e-commerce companies. They need to keep the public informed on server architecture while at the same time protecting private data under lock and key. 

Another favourable factor is the easy customizability of the hybrid cloud to meet the requirements of both public and private data centres. 

Companies of different sizes can use the hybrid cloud in Azure for their specific requirements:

• Small firms use private cloud servers to manage their clients’ confidential data and the public cloud for tracking accounting variables.

• Medium-sized companies rely on the private cloud for storing customer information and a public cloud for emergency messages, communication and email servers.

• Larger enterprises often depend on the public cloud for storing information related to ERP processes and workflow and the private cloud to handle customer relations.

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Applications of Hybrid Cloud in Azure

There are multiple such scenarios where Microsoft Azure Hybrid cloud seems to be the most viable option for businesses:

• Handling the Peak Load: Cyclical workloads like the surge in online shopping during the festive season can be handled efficiently with the hybrid cloud setup. While the normal workload can be maintained on-premises or on the private cloud, the demand for increased capacity can be moved to a public cloud like Azure.

• Recovery of Business Operation in Case of Disaster: With Azure Site Recovery, businesses can replicate the application environment for both virtual and physical machines. It also replicates enterprise solutions like CRM and ERP, web applications and the active directory.

• Supporting Business Expansion Strategies: Every business expansion strategy needs to be backed by technologies for data analysis, market segmentation, product development, etc. With its Machine Learning, CDN and API applications, Microsoft Azure help businesses reduce the time in testing new ideas and exploring new markets.

Features of Azure Hybrid Cloud

Upgrading to cloud technology is advantageous because of the suite of features it provides. Let us have a look at some of those features:

• Maintaining a private infrastructure: Workloads and sensitive assets that require low latency can be maintained using the Azure hybrid cloud.

• Easy transitioning: Transitioning to the cloud is easy, and you can do it in phases over time.

• Unlimited scalability: Hybrid cloud is so scalable that it grows at a continuous speed with your fast-developing business.

• Offsite data storages: Azure hybrid cloud provides offsite data storages for maintaining information privacy and protecting sensitive material.

• Automated network security: Automatic network security operations ensure operational agility and efficiency along with a business’s ability to maintain control over all their information.

• Cloud-ready architecture: Cloud-ready architecture helps scale an organization’s workload besides securing the entire data centre.

• App migration to the cloud: You can easily migrate applications to the cloud also transfer licenses related to Windows & SQL server.

• Streamlined DevOps workflows: Both on-premises and cloud pipelines for DevOps are connected to ensure a seamless delivery experience.

• On-premises support for hybrid apps: On-premises support for hybrid apps, Azure Stack HCI makes it possible to acquire cloud benefits and maintain compliance and connectivity in virtualized environments.

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Benefits of Migrating to Azure Hybrid Cloud

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Migrating to the Azure hybrid cloud means you can freely move all the data throughout your business environment.

As information moves smoothly from one channel to another in a business, complexities associated with quick approvals and strategic decision making get eliminated. Decisions are made quickly, and products reach the market well on time, and customers are delighted with your prompt services. This is how cloud hybrid has been helping organizations.

Migrating to Azure, therefore, provides a host of benefits to companies using the cloud. Some key advantages are:

• Reduced cost of maintaining and installing new servers

• Easily scalable based on the expected capacity

• Seamless data management and migration

• Governing and securing IT resources across edge, on-premise and multi-cloud environments

• Advanced protection against threats on all workloads

• Unified identity system for managing access to mobile, on-premise and cloud apps

• Connecting distributed locations and workloads securely.

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Conclusion

Azure hybrid cloud environment ensures business continuity for restoring business operations and protecting against threats. You can configure them as per your business requirements and scale accordingly.