Reinforcing Hybrid’s Benefits

By Paul Andrews | August 28, 2015

The last few weeks have seen a good deal of media coverage calling out the hybrid cloud model as the method of choice by IT departments looking to cloud-enable their businesses. Here at the Markley Group we’ve believed this to be the case for a while, but it is great to see businesses of all varieties fully understanding that – and making the decision to move to a hybrid model.

Continuing this theme, this week finds another few articles getting at the benefits of the hybrid cloud and why it makes sense, now more than ever, to embrace the cloud and, to put it simply, improve how your organization operates every day. We thought it would be great to share some of those insights here while also reminding readers why the hybrid cloud makes so much sense:

TechTarget’s SearchServer Virtualization site talks this week about how the main driver for the hybrid cloud is cost savings:

“As with many IT initiatives, the driving force is a desire to reduce costs. This move toward frugality often includes the need to spend less on hardware, software, networking, storage, power, cooling and staff. Even if it is only ancillary to a company's core business, the on-premises IT infrastructure forms the foundation for most organizations. As a result, properly managing these data center assets becomes an important -- and costly -- duty. While hardware costs have fallen, personnel-related expenses are increasingly making staff one of the largest costs in IT.”

Not to be outdone, CIO Magazine also talked about the cloud this week, focusing in on how the cloud can actually give companies stronger redundancy and uptime than they had with on-premise technology:

“For startups and smaller companies that use the cloud (and with no legacy IT to speak of), this means rarely or never having to deal with the types of IT operational headaches that have plagued companies for years - leaving plenty of time to deal with the many other problems SMBs must tackle. For older, enterprise companies who built or inherited massively complex systems before cloud computing was a reality, it means the promise of far greater stability and a better customer outcome.”

While both – cost savings and improved uptime – are great examples of how the hybrid cloud can help improve the cost structure and overall efficiencies of an organization, there are even more benefits to remember:

Security – The cloud has matured to the point where it can provide excellent security to companies, especially in cases where it is up to the vendor to upgrade or enhance security on their side, meaning the company no longer needs to worry about that task.

Markley Cloud Services hybrid model allows companies with a physical footprint at a Markley Group facility the ability to have a direct fiber connection to the cloud behind their own firewall, using their own IP space and shutting off Internet access from the Markley Cloud side. This connection, which is not metered, eliminates security concerns as the “bits” never leave the building and can also significantly reduce costs by taking public networks out of the equation. This fiber connection literally becomes an extension of the customer’s own network.

Capacity – The cloud allows your company to add what it needs, when it needs it; or to pull back in leaner times when as much capacity isn’t necessary.

Access – Your company’s critical data, apps and information can be accessed from anywhere, at any time.

Want to learn more about how Markley Group’s hybrid cloud services can help you improve your organization? Drop us a line anytime at info@markleygroup.com and we can talk cloud.