The majority of enterprise organisations all over the world are transitioning to a hybrid cloud model to benefit from the best of both worlds - linking traditional IT systems to the cloud.
So says Hamilton Ratshefola, SA's director of general business IBM, who points out that these enterprises have discovered they can maintain on-premise control of key applications and data while moving other workloads - the so-called systems of engagement with customers and partners - to the cloud for quick access to data, expansion of new services and cost reductions.
Market analyst firm Gartner says almost 50% of large enterprises will have hybrid cloud deployments by the end of 2017.
It points out that in the past three years, private cloud computing has moved from an aspiration to a tentative reality for many large enterprises. Hybrid cloud computing is at the same place today as private cloud was three years ago; actual deployments are low, but aspirations are high, Gartner says.
The firm adds most enterprises are looking to future private cloud deployments by starting with small pilot projects with limited functionality, noting that "while the majority of midsize and large enterprises will build and deploy private cloud services over the next few years, private cloud will only be used for specific, appropriate services".
Ratshefola says cloud computing is universally accepted as one of the major disruptive forces impacting IT today. However, he says few enterprises are ready to migrate all their data and applications to a public cloud.
"With key concerns including latency, security and control over critical data and applications, CIOs of major enterprises are opting to migrate to the cloud in a cautiously progressive manner that aligns with their own governance, risk and compliance guidelines."
He says the functionality and interoperability of the solutions enabling the hybrid cloud are critically important in helping enterprises transition to the cloud.
"Enterprises should not be forced to change their own IT environment to benefit from the cloud; rather, they should look to solutions that adapt to meet the needs of the application which delivers scaling, load balancing, and a variety of server and security models, all available on demand.
"With the right foundations in place, enterprises are positioning themselves to move increasingly critical data and applications to the cloud, and to use the cloud to effectively address new challenges, such as big data analytics," he concludes.
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