With the increasing digitization of companies, the requirements for a future-proof IT infrastructure with an appropriately designed application landscape and modern data storage options also grow. The required plus in performance can easily lead to an increase in costs. Here, the hybrid cloud scores with cost-effective scalability, flexibility, and modernization options.
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How to Save Costs with a Hybrid Cloud Approach
When it comes to setting up, expanding and operating IT infrastructures in a cost-optimized manner, cloud computing concepts offer a wide range of potential. By outsourcing all or parts of computing power, storage space and network capacities to the cloud, various expenses can be noticeably reduced. This applies to the acquisition of hardware and software licenses and the operation and further development of IT applications, as well as to internal server infrastructures that can potentially be saved. Finally, energy consumption in the internal data center can even be reduced by using resources that are called up as required.
The Economical Track to the Cloud
That all sounds promising and in the long term, significant cost savings can be made once a comprehensive cloud environment is established. Many fixed costs then become variable, which in turn has a positive effect on the return on investment (ROI). But how can you manage to make the path there as economical as possible?
In contrast to start-ups, which theoretically can go to the cloud overnight, companies that have been on the market for a longer time usually have classic on-premises infrastructures in which they have invested a lot and which in many cases have been designed to meet company-specific requirements (e.g. with regard to compliance). At the same time, the cloud beckons with unbeatable arguments regarding the development and management of innovative solutions and significantly faster reaction options to changing market requirements.
Save Costs with a Gradual Changeover
Since not all systems and processes can usually be easily migrated to the cloud from one day to the next, it is often advisable to initially use a hybrid architecture as a solution, with which organizations can benefit from the cloud under their specific conditions. In this way, a step-by-step changeover can take place, for example with standardized Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for the start, which are then gradually expanded to include Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) or Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions. The exact procedure should of course always be based on the company’s individual needs.
When pursuing a hybrid strategy, you benefit from the following economic advantages:
1. Lean Implementation Processes
If you use a hybrid model for your business, you usually first move those applications to the public cloud that can best be operated in a standardized manner. These can be support processes such as human resources or customer relationship management, while core value creation processes rather remain on-premises or in the private cloud.
When using public cloud services, the enterprise adapts to the application rather than vice versa. Implementation, operation and maintenance are particularly quick and easy to adapt, so that costs can be saved in a large number of areas: for example for the personnel involved, consulting services, customizations and trainings.
2. Cost Effective Scaling and Distribution
Oversized company-owned data centers are common practice in many enterprises, in which an appropriate infrastructure must provide the capacity to cope with intermittent peak loads. A hybrid cloud offers smart solutions for this because workloads can be relocated relatively easily and transparently from the local environment to the public cloud if necessary.
By choosing the location that causes the lowest costs, the overall consumption of IT resources can be effectively reduced. Thanks to the “pay-as-you-go” pricing model, only the cloud services that are really used cause costs. The procurement of additional data servers for on-premises systems would usually be significantly more expensive in comparison.
If there are already resources in the public cloud, further options can be performed to optimize costs: for example, the detection of different sizing options and pricing models as well as the definition of individual system-usage time profiles. In addition, cost optimization should be seen as an ongoing task, as cloud providers regularly revise their offers.
3. Economic Updates and New Introductions
Traditionally, you had to constantly invest in the latest hardware and technology to modernize the IT infrastructure. This becomes much more economical with the hybrid cloud approach. The implementation of state-of-the-art applications can not only be more cost-efficient, but also much faster. Updates are carried out automatically during operation, so that you are always up to date.
And when an additional application is needed (e.g. due to a new market demand), companies have the option of first implementing and testing it via the public cloud at relatively low initial costs. As soon as the service has proven itself for the respective business and the demand for it becomes more stable, it can later be relocated to a private cloud when using a hybrid cloud model so that more customization can be carried out.
Hybrid Cloud: A Driver of Savings
In a nutshell, the hybrid cloud can save you costs in a variety of ways, because it efficiently helps to optimize processes in the company. For example, the oversupply of IT resources can be reduced through on-demand cloud infrastructure that can be scaled according to needs, while at the same time the on-premise or private cloud option with all its advantages is retained.
To get started, an experienced consulting partner can analyze for which applications it is particularly worthwhile to rely on this flexible scalability and how cloud-capable they are. This strategic partner also knows which cloud provider offers the right migration tools to ensure the seamless relocation of existing data and applications. We at NTT DATA Business Solutions are pursuing this strategy.
So why not start today?
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