A new white paper released today from Microsoft and DotNet Solutions discusses the value of hybrid clouds as being capable of maximizing all of the benefits of the cloud (most notably in terms of cost and scalability) without putting an organization at excessive risk. The authors recognize that there are barriers to cloud, particularly in terms of security and the recurring investment into existing IT structures that will need to be reevaluated but makes the claim that hybrid clouds are sound investments and that many of the barriers are based on misconceptions. While many enterprises have already invested heavily in existing infrastructure, increases in the amount of data and maintenance costs of that data is creating cost strains and could permit greater flexibility in terms of options. While certainly the companies behind this report have a direct investment in furthering cloud adoption, it is a useful evaluation of the hybrid cloud model in the enterprise context, especially for those who are not yet sold on the public cloud due to security concerns.
The Hybrid Approach to Cloud Computing
May 24, 2010