The shift to hybrid cloud environments has been gaining momentum in recent years, as organizations look to balance the benefits of public and private cloud services. According to a recent report by MarketsandMarkets, the global hybrid cloud market is projected to reach $128 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 17.0% from 2020 to 2025.

Another factor driving the shift to hybrid clouds is the need for better data management and security. By keeping sensitive data in a private cloud environment and leveraging public cloud services for less-sensitive workloads, organizations can maintain better control over their data and reduce the risk of security breaches.

What is the meaning of hybrid cloud?

A hybrid cloud environment is a type of computing infrastructure that combines elements of both public and private clouds. In a hybrid cloud, organizations use a mix of on-premises resources, private cloud services, and public cloud services to create a cohesive IT environment.

This means that some of an organization’s data, applications, and services may be hosted in a private cloud that is managed internally, while others may be hosted in a public cloud that is managed by a third-party provider. Additionally, some data and applications may be hosted on physical servers located on-premises.

By combining these different types of resources, organizations can leverage the benefits of both public and private clouds. For example, they can use public cloud services for cost-effective scalability and on-demand access to computing resources, while keeping sensitive data and applications in a private cloud that is more secure and easier to control.

A hybrid cloud environment offers organizations a flexible, customizable, and scalable computing infrastructure that can meet a wide range of business needs.

Benefits of hybrid cloud environments

  • Enhanced security: Hybrid cloud infrastructure allows organizations to keep sensitive data and applications in a private cloud environment that is more secure and easier to control. This provides better protection against security breaches, data loss, and other cyber threats.
  • Regulatory compliance: Hybrid cloud infrastructure enables organizations to comply with industry-specific regulations and standards, such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI-DSS. This is because they can keep sensitive data and applications in a private cloud that meets the required security and compliance standards.
  • Customized security policies: With hybrid cloud, organizations can customize security policies based on the sensitivity of data and workloads. This allows them to implement appropriate security measures, such as encryption and multi-factor authentication, to protect their data and applications.
  • Greater control: Hybrid cloud infrastructure gives organizations greater control over their data and applications, allowing them to monitor and manage access, usage, and security policies.
  • Reduced risk: By leveraging both private and public cloud services, organizations can reduce the risk of data loss and service disruption. If one cloud service experiences an outage or failure, they can switch to another service or use on-premises resources to ensure continuity of service.
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Common challenges

  • Data privacy and compliance: One of the most significant challenges in a hybrid cloud environment is ensuring data privacy and compliance with industry-specific regulations and standards. To overcome this challenge, organizations should adopt a multi-layered security approach that includes encryption, access controls, and regular security assessments and audits.
  • Identity and access management: Hybrid cloud environments can make it challenging to manage user identities and access across multiple cloud services and on-premises resources. To address this challenge, organizations should implement a centralized identity and access management (IAM) system that provides unified authentication and authorization across all resources.
  • Cloud service provider security: Public cloud service providers may have different security protocols and measures than an organization’s private cloud or on-premises resources. To overcome this challenge, organizations should conduct thorough due diligence when selecting a cloud service provider and implement security controls to monitor and manage the service provider’s security practices.
  • Network security: The complexity of a hybrid cloud environment can make it difficult to manage network security effectively. To address this challenge, organizations should implement a network security architecture that spans both public and private cloud environments and provides visibility and control over all network traffic.
  • Integration and interoperability: Integrating and interoperating between different cloud services and on-premises resources can be challenging, especially when it comes to security. To overcome this challenge, organizations should adopt a standard security framework, such as the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Cloud Controls Matrix, that can be applied uniformly across all resources.

Hybrid cloud best practices

  • Enhanced security: Hybrid cloud infrastructure allows organizations to keep sensitive data and applications in a private cloud environment that is more secure and easier to control. This provides better protection against security breaches, data loss, and other cyber threats.
  • Regulatory compliance: Hybrid cloud infrastructure enables organizations to comply with industry-specific regulations and standards, such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI-DSS. This is because they can keep sensitive data and applications in a private cloud that meets the required security and compliance standards.
  • Customized security policies: With hybrid cloud, organizations can customize security policies based on the sensitivity of data and workloads. This allows them to implement appropriate security measures, such as encryption and multi-factor authentication, to protect their data and applications.
  • Greater control: Hybrid cloud infrastructure gives organizations greater control over their data and applications, allowing them to monitor and manage access, usage, and security policies.
  • Reduced risk: By leveraging both private and public cloud services, organizations can reduce the risk of data loss and service disruption. If one cloud service experiences an outage or failure, they can switch to another service or use on-premises resources to ensure continuity of service.
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GDPR and the hybrid cloud

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a set of data protection regulations that govern the collection, processing, and storage of personal data within the European Union (EU). The GDPR applies to any organization that processes personal data of EU residents, regardless of where the organization is located.

In a hybrid cloud environment, organizations may process personal data in both public and private cloud environments, as well as on-premises resources. This can make it challenging to ensure compliance with the GDPR, as organizations must ensure that personal data is processed securely and in accordance with GDPR requirements.

To comply with the GDPR in a hybrid cloud environment, organizations should adopt a multi-layered security approach that includes encryption, access controls, and regular security assessments and audits. They should also implement data minimization techniques to reduce the amount of personal data that is processed, and ensure that personal data is only transferred to third parties who have appropriate security and privacy measures in place.

In addition, organizations should conduct thorough due diligence when selecting a cloud service provider, and ensure that the provider has appropriate GDPR compliance certifications and controls in place. They should also implement clear data processing agreements with the provider to ensure that personal data is processed only in accordance with GDPR requirements.

Not all platforms are created equal

When evaluating hybrid cloud platforms, look for the following attributes:

  • Compatibility and interoperability: A hybrid cloud platform should be compatible with a variety of public and private cloud environments and support interoperability between these environments. This allows organizations to easily move workloads between different cloud environments and manage resources from a centralized console.
  • Security and compliance: A hybrid cloud platform should provide robust security and compliance features, including encryption, access controls, and compliance certifications for industry-specific regulations and standards. This helps ensure that data and applications are protected and compliant with regulatory requirements.
  • Scalability and flexibility: A hybrid cloud platform should be scalable and flexible, allowing organizations to easily add or remove resources as needed and adapt to changing business needs. This enables organizations to optimize resource utilization and reduce costs while maintaining performance and availability.
  • Integration with existing tools and systems: A hybrid cloud platform should integrate with existing tools and systems, such as identity and access management (IAM) systems, network security tools, and automation and orchestration tools. This allows organizations to leverage existing investments and processes while maximizing the benefits of a hybrid cloud environment.
  • Comprehensive management and monitoring capabilities: A hybrid cloud platform should provide comprehensive management and monitoring capabilities, allowing organizations to monitor and manage resources across multiple cloud environments from a centralized console. This includes visibility into resource usage, performance, and security, as well as tools for automation and orchestration.

A hybrid cloud platform should provide a secure, scalable, and flexible environment that allows organizations to leverage the benefits of both public and private clouds while maintaining control over their data and applications. By selecting a platform that meets these attributes, organizations can achieve their business goals while minimizing risk and maximizing efficiency.

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BigID’s Approach to Hybrid Cloud

BigID is a data discovery and intelligence platform that helps organizations identify and manage sensitive data across their hybrid cloud environments. With BigID, organizations can gain visibility into their data assets, including personal data, and ensure compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.

In a hybrid cloud environment, BigID can be deployed across multiple cloud environments, including public and private clouds, as well as traditional on-prem stores. This allows organizations to discover and classify sensitive data across their entire IT infrastructure, regardless of where it resides.

BigID uses advanced AI and next-gen machine learning algorithms to automatically and accurately scan, identify, and classify cloud data— this data-centric approach provides organizations with greater visibility and understanding over their cloud assets so they can prioritize their efforts to protect it.

BigID also provides tools for data access governance, data retention management, and data lineage tracking. These tools allow organizations to manage data access permissions, enforce data retention policies, and track the movement of data across their hybrid cloud environment.

To see how BigID can ensure compliance and improve your organization’s overall security posture in the cloud— schedule a 1:1 demo with our experts today.