Hybrid Cloud Storage Solves the “Cloud Versus Colocation” Question

October 5, 2020

Since cloud storage solutions have become more common, there has been a general thought among colocation providers that they represented an alternative to the cloud. It was generally believed that enterprises would either choose cloud or colocation, but not usually both. Hybrid cloud storage is changing all of that.

Initially, this was a reasonable set of options. It created some competition between colocation data centers and public cloud providers to provide the most competitive and advantageous solution for enterprises pursuing cost savings and digital strategies. Now, the largest public cloud providers are offering new hybrid cloud storage solutions that allow enterprises to have the best of both worlds. Hybrid cloud now offers customers access to public cloud solutions while placing workloads in a data center.

Hybrid cloud services are positioned to make the most of public cloud and data storage centers.

The Debate: Traditionally, enterprises saw public cloud and colocation as two distinct options. When utilizing workloads in the public cloud, enterprises could access a range of services that were instantaneously available. The downside is that enterprises were forced to give up some privacy and control that generally come with the use of a colocation center.

When using a colocation center, customers have a lot of options to choose hardware and its configuration as well as designate the steps taken to isolate it from the resources of other companies. But a colocation center comes with its own drawbacks, such as less flexibility or a smaller range of services available to cloud customers. In many cases, colocation centers were perceived to be a simple infrastructure option.

Overall, enterprises opted to use public cloud solutions rather than colocation. In fact, there appeared to be a race to implement cloud storage. While some eventually migrated back to colocation, there certainly was more momentum and growth around cloud solutions.

A New Contender Enters the Debate: In order to address the benefits that colocation brings to data storage, many public cloud providers are introducing new hybrid cloud storage solutions, making it possible to gain the advantages of both storage within the cloud and keeping workloads within a colocation center.

When evaluating hybrid cloud storage from major providers, IT professionals should be ready to examine each for potential limitations, such as a provider who may only work with certified hardware. Even if a provider is more flexible about working with any hardware, it may be more difficult to deploy and manage with their platform.

Even so, hybrid cloud storage solutions offer new opportunities for combining the benefits of both cloud and colocation technologies. The new solutions equip enterprises not just with infrastructure as a service (IaaS) services, but also with serverless functions and databases. They are also cost-effective, putting the technology within reach of enterprises of all sizes. They may even be more affordable than public cloud or colocation as individual investments. To learn more about hybrid cloud storage and whether it might be the right solution for your enterprise, contact us at Access Tech. From assessing your needs to calculating your expected return on investment, we can ensure you choose the right solution for data storage.

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