December 5, 2013: During the recent Netevents APAC Cloud Summit Singapore 2013, one of the many interesting sessions was about cloud computing, which emphasised on how enterprises had already adopted cloud computing in one form or the other be it Public, Private or Hybrid.

Though Public and Private cloud computing have been around for a significant time, Hybrid cloud computing is a comparatively newer phenomenon.

While Public Cloud offers economies of scale, Private Cloud offers scalability, security, greater control over redundancy and eliminates the need to have dedicated servers.

However, in the current environment, a majority of large enterprises have business processes which vary in terms of requirements of functionality and availability. Some of these processes may require simple tasks where a public cloud service can be used, while for more critical business processes, where security is the main concern, private cloud services are usually deployed. This is a typical scenario where a go-to-market strategy centered on a Hybrid Cloud service offering will go down well with enterprises. Also in contrast to a purely public cloud model, the hybrid cloud can provide a higher level of security for sensitive data where companies are bound to certain industry or government regulations.

I believe that Hybrid Cloud technologies are still in an evolutionary phase, but the pace of adoption is likely to be rapid. Going forward companies should look at their internal needs including usage requirements, budgetary considerations, and the sensitive nature of data that will be stored in the cloud environment. However one of the near-term challenges for Hybrid Cloud adoption will be an effective management strategy and ensuring minimum disruption during its deployment.

Although not many enterprises may have currently deployed a Hybrid Cloud solution, adoption in the short term will depend on the nature of business activities of an organisation. On the other hand, with shrinking IT budgets and cost control a priority for many businesses, more and more enterprises are expected to look for a more effective model of cloud deployment. This is why I believe that Hybrid Cloud solutions are definitely here to stay in the long term.