Hybrid cloud solutions merge the scalability and flexibility of public cloud infrastructure with the security and control of private cloud. This strategy enables organizations to integrate on-premises infrastructure with cloud infrastructure in an intuitive way, balancing their workloads between both private and public clouds.
By using hybrid cloud tools, organizations can get the best of both worlds—taking advantage of the power of the public cloud for scalability and keeping the privacy and control provided by private cloud infrastructure.
Organizations can keep some of the vital workloads and confidential data within their private cloud while using the public cloud to be cost-effective and scale on demand. This blend not only provides greater flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and improved data security but also helps businesses modernize IT infrastructure, enhance performance, and achieve business continuity.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the top 10 hybrid cloud solutions changing the way enterprises deal with their IT operations to provide more agility and efficiency in industries.
Why does Your Business Need Hybrid Cloud Solutions?
Here’s why your business needs hybrid cloud tools:
Flexibility: Hybrid cloud solutions integrate both private and public cloud environments, enabling organizations to pick the most suitable cloud platform for each workload. This allows businesses to host sensitive or mission-critical applications in a private cloud while using the public cloud for less critical tasks, leading to a flexible infrastructure that accommodates particular requirements.
Cost Efficiency: By harnessing the public cloud for non-sensitive and variable workloads, companies can lower capital expenditure on hardware and enhance operational costs. The private cloud enables you to store sensitive information and execute business-critical workloads with more control, whereas the public cloud ensures minimal spending on infrastructure and dynamically scales resources whenever necessary.
Security & Control: The biggest advantage of hybrid cloud deployments is having absolute control over the sensitive data. For companies that deal with sensitive information, there is greater security offered by the private clouds like encryption and assigned resources. However, less critical functions can be left to the public cloud for processing, providing more security functions at a minimal cost.
Scalability: Hybrid cloud software offers high scalability by enabling businesses to scale resources up or down depending on demand. Public cloud platforms offer nearly unlimited resources that can be quickly provisioned, while private cloud infrastructure can be utilized to ensure that mission-critical applications continue to operate smoothly during times of high demand.
Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity: Hybrid clouds enhance disaster recovery as they enable data and applications to be duplicated in multiple environments. If a failure were to take place in one cloud (private or public), workloads could be easily transferred to a different platform, so business can continue with minimal interruption. Hybrid solutions allow non-disruptive backup, failover, and recovery strategies to minimize downtime and reduce data loss.
Faster Innovation: With exposure to the most advanced cloud-based tools and technologies, companies are able to innovate quicker. Public cloud vendors typically provide the most advanced tools for AI, machine learning, big data analytics, and other emerging technologies, which allows organizations to leverage these innovations within their businesses without the need to make huge upfront investments in infrastructure.
Flexibility: Hybrid cloud solutions enable organizations to change rapidly in response to evolving market conditions, regulatory demands, or customer needs. The hybrid cloud’s flexibility enables companies to shift direction, test new technologies, and deploy new applications or services in a matter of minutes, staying ahead of competitors and responsive to changing business demands.
List of Top Hybrid Cloud Solutions
1. IBM and Red Hat
IBM and Red Hat provide a robust hybrid cloud solution aimed at enabling businesses to innovate quickly and scale with ease.
By coupling IBM’s comprehensive industry experience with Red Hat’s open-source technology, particularly Red Hat OpenShift, companies can build, deploy, and manage applications easily across on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud infrastructures. Through this partnership, companies can modernize their IT infrastructure with security, speed, and control.
Whether optimizing existing systems or creating new cloud-native applications, IBM and Red Hat offer the platforms and tools to make hybrid cloud transformation seamless, secure, and future-proof.
Features:
- Open Hybrid Cloud Architecture
- Red Hat OpenShift Integration
- Multi-Cloud Flexibility
- Enterprise-Grade Security
- AI-Powered Automation
- Application Modernization Support
- Scalable Kubernetes Platform
- Interoperability with Existing Systems
- Developer Productivity Tools
- Consistent Operations Across Environments
Pricing: Customized pricing
Website: https://www.ibm.com/cloud/redhat
2. Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides a comprehensive hybrid cloud solution to assist businesses in developing and scaling applications securely across on-premises systems and various clouds. With technologies such as Anthos, GCP allows uniform operations, security, and management of applications on hybrid and multi-cloud setups.
This capability gives organizations the power to modernize workloads without entirely leaving existing systems behind. Whether you’re deploying microservices, managing Kubernetes clusters, or integrating legacy systems, GCP ensures a unified experience with enterprise-grade performance and security.
Features:
- Anthos for Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Management
- Consistent Application Deployment
- Integrated Kubernetes Support
- Secure and Scalable Infrastructure
- Cloud-native DevOps Tools
- AI and Machine Learning Integration
- Flexible Networking Options
- Comprehensive Data and Storage Solutions
- Built-in Monitoring and Logging
- Interoperability with On-Premises Systems
Pricing:
- Pay-as-You-Go: Charges are based on actual usage, with no upfront fees or termination charges.
- Committed Use Discounts: Up to 70% savings when committing to one- or three-year terms for services like Compute Engine.
- Free Tier: New customers receive $300 in credits, and 25+ products are available with monthly usage limits at no cost.
Website: https://cloud.google.com/free
3. Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure provides an end-to-end hybrid cloud platform that integrates effortlessly across on-premises, multicloud, and edge infrastructures.
With solutions such as Azure Arc, Azure Stack, and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure helps organizations control resources and deploy applications uniformly across heterogeneous infrastructures. It helps organizations modernize operations while keeping data residency, security, and compliance intact.
Azure’s hybrid capabilities are especially useful for businesses looking for flexibility and continuity, enabling them to tap into cloud innovation without affecting current systems. For app modernization, data management, or deploying AI, Azure is a future-proof hybrid cloud solution.
Features:
- Azure Arc for Unified Management
- Azure Stack for On-Premises Cloud Services
- Seamless Multi-Cloud Integration
- Hybrid Identity and Access Management
- Built-in Security and Compliance Tools
- Consistent DevOps Experience
- Edge Computing with Azure IoT
- AI and Machine Learning Across Environments
- Integrated Data Services
- Flexible Deployment and Scalability
Pricing:
- Pay-as-You-Go: Pay only for the resources you use, allowing flexibility and scalability.​
- Reserved Instances: Commit to one- or three-year terms for services like Virtual Machines to receive significant discounts.​
- Azure Hybrid Benefit: Leverage existing on-premises Windows Server or SQL Server licenses with active Software Assurance to save up to 40% on Azure Virtual Machines and up to 55% on Azure SQL Database. Combining this with Reserved Instances can lead to savings of up to 80%.
Website: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/
4. VMware
VMware provides a robust and versatile hybrid cloud platform that can be easily integrated with public clouds and on-premises infrastructures. Through offerings such as VMware vSphere, VMware Cloud on AWS, and VMware Cloud Foundation, organizations can extend their data centers to the cloud and build a cohesive and streamlined infrastructure.
VMware’s hybrid cloud feature offers a unified operating environment, making management, security, and scalability easier across various platforms. This enables businesses to update their applications, simplify operations, and spur innovation without having to totally replace their current IT infrastructure.
Features:
- VMware vSphere for Virtualization
- VMware Cloud on AWS for Seamless Integration
- VMware Cloud Foundation for Unified Infrastructure
- Consistent Application Management Across Clouds
- Enterprise-Grade Security and Compliance
- Automated Operations and Orchestration
- Hybrid Cloud Networking with VMware NSX
- Cross-Cloud Mobility and Flexibility
- Cloud-native Application Support
- Integrated Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Pricing: Customized pricing
Website: https://www.vmware.com/
5. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) provides a comprehensive set of hybrid cloud solutions that enable businesses to bridge the benefits of public cloud agility and scalability with the security and control of on-premises infrastructure.
HPE GreenLake is at the center of HPE’s hybrid cloud portfolio and provides a cloud experience in every IT environment. This platform enables organizations to manage workloads with elastic, consumption-based pricing and only pay for what they consume.
HPE GreenLake enables centralized management, visibility, and governance while preserving control over applications and data and scaling across public, private, and edge environments.
Features:
- HPE GreenLake for Flexible Consumption
- HPE OneSphere for Multi-Cloud Management
- HPE Ezmeral for AI and Analytics Workloads
- HPE GreenLake Central for Unified Cloud Management
- HPE Alletra Storage for Cloud-Native Storage
- Hybrid IT Integration Across Public, Private, and Edge Environments
- Real-Time Insights and Self-Service Monitoring
- Consumption-Based Pricing Model
- Seamless Deployment and Scaling Across Hybrid Environments
- Security and Data Control in Hybrid Cloud
Pricing: Customized pricing
Website: https://www.hpe.com/in/en/home.html
6. Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a comprehensive and highly integrated set of hybrid cloud solutions that are intended to bring the flexibility and elasticity of the cloud along with the security and control of on-premises infrastructure together. These hybrid solutions allow businesses to run, scale, and optimize their applications seamlessly across a variety of environments, either on-premises, in the cloud, or at the edge.
The central piece of AWS hybrid cloud services is AWS Outposts, which introduces fully managed, configurable storage and compute racks built with AWS-designed hardware to run AWS services on-premises. With this, businesses can extend their current data center infrastructure with the capabilities of AWS, providing a uniform hybrid environment.
Features:
- AWS Outposts
- AWS Storage Gateway
- AWS Snow Family
- AWS Direct Connect
- AWS CloudFormation
- Amazon EC2 for Scalable Compute
- Pay-As-You-Go Pricing Model
- Flexible and Customizable Hybrid Cloud Deployments
- Seamless Data Integration Across Environments
- Edge Computing and Data Transfer Solutions
Pricing:
- AWS Outposts: Pricing starts around $7,148.67 per month for a basic rack configuration, with savings plans offering discounts for long-term commitments.
- Amazon EC2: Pay-per-use model with prices starting from approximately $3.072 per hour for an m5.24xlarge instance.
- AWS Direct Connect: Dedicated connections cost around $0.025 per hour for a 1 Gbps port, or $18 per month.
- AWS Pricing Calculator: Tool to estimate costs for your hybrid cloud environment based on selected services and configurations.
- Savings Plans: Commit to one- or three-year terms for up to 72% savings compared to on-demand pricing.
Website: https://aws.amazon.com/
7. Dell Technologies
Dell Technologies provides hybrid cloud computing solutions that combine public, private, and edge cloud resources to manage IT infrastructure. The method optimizes the performance, cost, scalability, and security of IT infrastructure using public, private, and edge cloud resources.
The method enables firms to customize computing environments according to specific operations, transfer workloads easily based on demand, and control sensitive information while leveraging the strengths of public cloud services. Dell hybrid cloud storage solutions enable consistency, resiliency, and efficiency for changing workloads, allowing IT staff to handle storage needs across varied cloud environments.
Features:
- Seamless Integration of Public, Private, and Edge Clouds
- Tailored Computing Environments
- Workload Mobility Based on Demand
- Hybrid Cloud Storage Solutions
- Consistent, Resilient, and Efficient Storage Management
- Enhanced Scalability and Flexibility
- Advanced Security and Control
- Optimized Performance and Cost
Pricing: Customized pricing
Website: https://www.dell.com/en-us/lp/hybrid-cloud-computing
8. Nutanix
Nutanix provides a full range of hybrid cloud solutions that enable organizations to simplify the deployment and management of applications both on-premises and in the cloud. Their Nutanix Cloud Platform is an integrated infrastructure solution that unifies compute, storage, and virtualization into one platform, allowing businesses to simplify IT while enhancing scalability and performance.
Nutanix further expands its offerings to public cloud environments with Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2), enabling organizations to natively extend their on-premises workloads to public clouds like AWS and Microsoft Azure.
Features:
- Nutanix Cloud Platform
- Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2)
- Nutanix Cloud Manager
- Seamless Hybrid Cloud Integration
- Centralized Management
- Workload Mobility
- Scalable Infrastructure
- Data Security and Governance
- Disaster Recovery Solutions
- Cloud Resource Optimization
Pricing:
- Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2): Pricing varies; for AWS, an i3.metal configuration costs around $3.564 per hour.
- Nutanix Cloud Platform: Subscriptions start at $1,592.99 per 4-year license for 1 CPU core.
- Nutanix Software Subscriptions: Prices range from $97 to $962 per 12-month contract, depending on the service tier.
- Nutanix on OVHcloud: Prices for hosted private cloud solutions start at $2,777 per month for a basic configuration.
Website: https://www.nutanix.com/products
9. Cisco
Cisco Hybrid Cloud software provides a single platform to bring teams and technologies together to develop a tailored hybrid cloud operating model. Their strategy focuses on modernization through cloud-managed infrastructure for streamlined automation and continuous delivery.
Cisco provides scalable computing infrastructure, secure cloud networking, and centralized management with Cisco Intersight, allowing organizations to observe, manage, and automate their infrastructure from one platform.
In partnership with Intel, Cisco offers best-in-class solutions to address the infrastructure demands of today, providing flexibility and scalability for companies evolving to hybrid cloud infrastructures.
Features:
- Cloud-Managed Infrastructure
- Scalable Computing Infrastructure
- Automated Deployment and Management
- Centralized Management with Cisco Intersight
- Cloud Networking and Security
- Optimized Performance with Intel Integration
- Flexible and Agile IT Infrastructure
- Comprehensive Hybrid Cloud Operations
Pricing: Customized pricing
Website: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/computing/hybrid-cloud/index.html
10. Cycloid
Cycloid’s Hybrid Cloud solutions are engineered to streamline and optimize cloud infrastructure management in multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments.
The platform unifies tools and resources, giving companies greater visibility, control, and automation of their cloud environments. With an intuitive self-service portal, Cycloid enables teams to manage and access cloud resources without requiring extensive cloud expertise.
Cycloid’s powerful monitoring and reporting features equip organizations with the insights they require to monitor cloud usage, save costs, and make informed decisions to scale infrastructure efficiently. This method allows organizations to speed up their development lifecycle and increase efficiency.
Features:
- Centralized Cloud Management
- Self-Service Portal
- CI/CD Pipeline Integration
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Support
- Advanced Automation
- Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Support
- Cost Optimization and Reporting
- Security and Compliance Governance
- Seamless Deployment Across Cloud Environments
- Cloud Visibility and Control
Pricing:
- Starter: €29 for Platform Team, €19 per End User (billed annually) – SaaS, One organization, Platform engineering, CI/CD Pipelines, and Support (8am to 5pm).
- Advanced: €39 for Platform Team, €24 per End User (billed annually) – SaaS (or Self-Hosted), includes Cloud cost management, SSO, and 24/7 Support.
- Enterprise: Price on request – SaaS (or Self-Hosted), Multi-organizations, Dedicated customer success manager, White label portal, and 24/7 Support with SLAs.
Website: https://www.cycloid.io/solutions/hybrid-cloud
How to Choose the Best Hybrid Cloud Solution?
Selecting the most appropriate hybrid cloud solution for your company is an important choice that needs to be made after thoroughly considering various factors. To make the best decision, here are the essential steps to follow:
1. Evaluate Your Business Needs
- Workload Requirements: Determine which workloads are mission-critical and need to be hosted on a private cloud for enhanced security and control and which can be hosted by the public cloud for scalability and flexibility.
- Regulatory Compliance: Make sure the solution is able to satisfy industry-specific compliance requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, etc.
- Future Scalability: Think about your company’s expansion and whether the hybrid cloud solution will be able to scale according to needs without affecting operations.
2. Security Considerations
- Data Encryption: Select a solution that offers robust encryption for data in transit as well as at rest to keep your data safe.
- Access Management: Make sure the solution has comprehensive identity and access management (IAM) capabilities that manage who gets to access what information and assets in both clouds.
- Compliance Tools: The solution must assist you in achieving regulatory compliance demands through inherent security tools.
3. Integration and Compatibility
- Seamless Integration: The solution must seamlessly integrate with your current IT infrastructure, such as old systems and other cloud offerings.
- Third-party Support: Ensure that it supports third-party application or service integration you depend on, like CRM, ERP, or business analytics software.
4. Cost Efficiency
- Flexible Pricing Models: Ensure the solution has flexible pricing options, like pay-as-you-go or subscription-based prices, to align more with your spending and usage patterns.
- Hidden Costs: Take note of any extra cost for data transfer, storage, bandwidth, and service scaling.
- Long-term Value: Think about total cost of ownership, including not only initial investment but also regular operational costs and possible savings when scaling.
5. Performance and Reliability
- Uptime and Availability: Make sure the provider has a robust Service Level Agreement (SLA) with assured uptime and availability.
- Performance Monitoring: Choose a solution with built-in tools to monitor performance and resources in both private and public clouds to guarantee smooth operation.
- Disaster Recovery: It should have automated failover, backups, and disaster recovery support to reduce downtime during outages.
6. Customization and Flexibility
- Customized Solutions: Select a provider that provides you with an option to configure your hybrid cloud environment to fit your particular business needs and workload types.
- Control Over Resources: Seek a solution that offers adequate control over your private cloud infrastructure so that you can configure it according to your requirements for security, performance, and compliance.
7. Vendor Support and Customer Service
- 24/7 Customer Support: Make sure the solution vendor offers 24/7 support to resolve issues promptly, particularly if your business is in critical sectors.
- Dedicated Support: Having a dedicated customer success manager or support team available to you can assist you in fine-tuning your cloud configuration and get over any issues that come your way.
- Ease of Use: An easy-to-use interface is required for the administration and use of hybrid cloud resources without needing specialized technical know-how.
8. Vendor Reputation and Experience
- Industry Recognition: Investigate the provider’s history and reputation within the hybrid cloud market. Check for customer comments, case studies, and third-party ratings to determine their dependability and performance.
- Customer Testimonials: Interview other customers or ask the vendor for case studies in order to better understand the actual performance of their solution.
9. Hybrid Cloud Ecosystem
- Ecosystem of Services: Think about whether or not the provider provides some extra tools, services, and integrations to assist your company in addition to the infrastructure, including analytics, AI, and DevOps tools.
- Interoperability: The solution must provide seamless interoperability across many cloud platforms and on-prem systems to ensure effortless working in multiple environments.
10. Test the Solution
- Free Trials and Demos: Utilize free trials or product demonstrations to experience the solution hands-on so you can judge its usability, features, and performance.
- Proof of Concept: Conduct a proof of concept (PoC) trial to observe how the hybrid cloud solution operates in a real environment, and confirm that it fulfills your business’s technical, security, and operational requirements prior to committing.
Conclusion
In summary, selecting the right hybrid cloud option is a make-or-break decision that can spark innovation, agility, and affordability for your business. With a variety of alternatives to choose from, it is essential to pay attention to parameters like security, scalability, and compatibility with the current infrastructure.
The options we’ve outlined are among the finest available in the market, providing a combination of public and private cloud features that can support varied business requirements. With thoughtful consideration of these hybrid cloud solutions, you can make your organization agile, competitive, and future-ready for digital transformation.
FAQs
Why should I select a hybrid cloud instead of a public or private cloud?
Hybrid cloud offers the best of both. It provides the scalability and cost savings of public clouds and the control and security of private clouds. It’s perfect for companies that require flexibility, data compliance, and the ability to scale up or down rapidly.
How secure are hybrid cloud tools?
Hybrid cloud deployments can be highly secure since they enable organizations to store sensitive information in private clouds and use public clouds for less-important workloads. Top providers guarantee strong security through features such as encryption, identity and access management, and industry standards compliance.
Can hybrid cloud solutions be integrated with my current IT infrastructure?
Yes, hybrid cloud software can integrate with existing on-premises infrastructure, making it possible for businesses to take their current systems into the cloud without having to overhaul them completely.
Are hybrid cloud software appropriate for small and medium-sized businesses?
Yes, hybrid cloud tools can be advantageous for small businesses in that they offer scalable and affordable solutions. They enable small businesses to enjoy enterprise-class infrastructure and services without shelling out the cash for them.
How do hybrid cloud software manage data compliance and regulatory needs?
Hybrid cloud offerings can be architected to support multiple data compliance and regulatory requirements, including GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. By enabling sensitive data to reside in a private cloud, organizations can remain compliant while using the public cloud for less-sensitive applications. Several hybrid cloud providers provide integrated tools to help businesses remain compliant.
