Hybrid Cloud Computing: Definition, Architecture, and Business Value

Introduction

The landscape of enterprise IT has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade, shifting from traditional on-premises infrastructure toward more flexible, scalable cloud computing models. At the center of this evolution stands hybrid cloud—an approach that combines on-premises infrastructure with public cloud services to create a unified, flexible computing environment tailored to specific business needs.

According to recent market analysis, the hybrid cloud market is expected to grow from $85.3 billion in 2022 to over $262.4 billion by 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.2%. This remarkable growth reflects how organizations across industries are recognizing that neither purely public cloud nor solely on-premises approaches adequately address their diverse requirements.

This article explores hybrid cloud computing in depth—examining its definition, core architecture components, implementation approaches, business benefits, and real-world applications. Whether you’re considering a hybrid strategy, already implementing one, or simply seeking to understand this dominant IT trend, this comprehensive overview will provide valuable insights into how organizations are leveraging hybrid cloud to drive innovation while balancing security, compliance, and cost optimization.

Defining Hybrid Cloud Computing

Hybrid cloud computing represents a computing environment that seamlessly combines and orchestrates services from at least two different types of infrastructure. At its core, hybrid cloud integrates private infrastructure components with public cloud services to create a unified computing environment. This approach allows organizations to maintain control over sensitive workloads while leveraging the scalability and innovation of public cloud platforms.

The private infrastructure components typically include:

• On-premises data centers
• Private cloud environments (either self-hosted or provider-managed)
• Dedicated hosting environments with private hardware

These private components are then integrated with public cloud services such as:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings like AWS EC2, Azure VMs, or Google Compute Engine
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) capabilities from major cloud providers
• Specialized managed services from cloud providers (databases, analytics, AI/ML)

What distinguishes a true hybrid cloud from simply having multiple disconnected environments is integration—the ability for workloads, data, and services to operate across these environments as part of a cohesive system rather than as isolated silos. This integration enables organizations to place workloads in their optimal environment based on factors like performance, compliance, cost, and scalability requirements.

A genuine hybrid cloud environment exhibits several defining characteristics that set it apart from traditional siloed IT approaches. These include unified management with consistent tools and processes for deploying, monitoring, and managing resources across all environments; workload portability allowing applications to move between environments based on changing requirements; and seamless integration enabling applications to span environments with components running where most appropriate.

It’s important to distinguish hybrid cloud from multi-cloud, though they’re often confused. Hybrid cloud specifically combines private infrastructure with one or more public clouds, focusing on integration between private and public resources. Multi-cloud, by contrast, refers to using multiple public cloud providers, which may or may not include integration between clouds. Many organizations implement both approaches simultaneously—a hybrid multi-cloud strategy—leveraging private infrastructure alongside multiple public cloud providers in an integrated fashion.

Hybrid Cloud Architecture: Core Components

The foundation of effective hybrid cloud deployments rests on several critical architectural components working together to create a cohesive environment. Understanding these building blocks is essential for implementing a successful hybrid strategy.

Connectivity and Networking

The hybrid cloud experience depends fundamentally on robust, secure connectivity between environments. Without reliable, high-performance networking, a hybrid architecture quickly devolves into disconnected silos rather than a unified computing platform. Organizations typically implement a combination of connectivity solutions based on their specific requirements and budget constraints.

Dedicated private connections form the backbone of enterprise hybrid connectivity, with services like AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, or Google Cloud Interconnect providing high-bandwidth, low-latency links between on-premises data centers and public cloud environments. These connections bypass the public internet, offering better security, reliability, and consistent performance for data-intensive workflows spanning environments.

Software-defined networking (SDN) technologies create consistent network overlays spanning environments, enabling unified segmentation and policy enforcement regardless of the underlying infrastructure. This abstraction layer simplifies management and enhances security across hybrid deployments by maintaining consistent network configurations.

Most hybrid implementations also include:

• VPN solutions as backup connectivity or for smaller-scale deployments
• Transit solutions facilitating connectivity between multiple environments
• Edge networking capabilities for distributed operations
• Traffic management and load balancing spanning environments

The networking architecture must address consistent IP address management across environments, security controls at connection points, comprehensive performance monitoring, and bandwidth capacity planning for data-intensive workloads that cross environment boundaries.

Identity and Access Management

Secure, unified identity management provides the foundation for hybrid cloud security and user experience. Without a cohesive approach to identity, organizations face increased security risks, administrative overhead, and user friction as people navigate between environments.

Federated identity technologies like SAML, OAuth, and OpenID Connect enable single sign-on across environments, allowing users to authenticate once and access resources regardless of where they’re hosted. This improves both security and user experience by reducing password proliferation and login friction.

A comprehensive hybrid identity approach typically includes:

• Centralized directory services spanning all environments
• Role-based access control with consistent permissions models
• Multi-factor authentication applied consistently across resources
• Privileged access management for administrative accounts
• Continuous monitoring and anomaly detection for authentication activities

Organizations often leverage solutions like Azure Active Directory, Okta, or on-premises Active Directory with federation to implement these capabilities across their hybrid landscape. The most successful implementations create a consistent identity experience regardless of which environment users are accessing.

Data Management and Integration

Effective data management across hybrid environments presents one of the most significant challenges organizations face. Data often has specific compliance, performance, and accessibility requirements that influence where and how it should be stored and processed.

A comprehensive hybrid data strategy addresses data classification, determining which information can reside in public clouds versus what must remain in private infrastructure based on sensitivity, regulatory requirements, and access patterns. It also establishes data lifecycle policies spanning all environments to ensure information is retained, protected, and eventually deleted according to consistent policies.

Key components of hybrid data management include:

• Data synchronization mechanisms keeping information consistent across environments
• Caching strategies optimizing access to frequently used data
• Integration patterns connecting applications across environment boundaries
• Backup and recovery spanning all data locations
• Encryption approaches for data at rest and in transit

Organizations often implement specialized data integration platforms, distributed database technologies, and content delivery networks to optimize data accessibility and consistency across hybrid environments. These technologies help balance the sometimes-competing requirements of data locality, access performance, and appropriate governance.

Containerization and Orchestration

Modern hybrid cloud architectures increasingly leverage containerization technologies to enable application portability and consistent deployment across environments. Containers package applications with their dependencies, making them environment-agnostic and easier to move between different infrastructure platforms.

Kubernetes has emerged as the de facto standard for container orchestration across hybrid cloud deployments. It provides consistent deployment, scaling, and management capabilities regardless of the underlying infrastructure. Many organizations implement Kubernetes-based platforms across their hybrid environment to enable a consistent operational model.

Hybrid container platforms typically include:

• Consistent container runtime environments across all infrastructure
• Unified orchestration spanning private and public environments
• Standardized application deployment patterns
• Service mesh capabilities for application networking
• Persistent storage solutions for stateful applications

Several purpose-built solutions address hybrid Kubernetes deployments, including Google Anthos, Azure Arc, Red Hat OpenShift, and VMware Tanzu. These platforms extend consistent container management across diverse infrastructure environments, simplifying operations while maintaining flexibility in underlying resource choices.

Business Drivers and Benefits of Hybrid Cloud

Organizations adopt hybrid cloud strategies for a variety of business reasons, with the specific drivers varying based on industry, size, and existing technology investments. Understanding these motivations helps frame the potential benefits of hybrid approaches for different organizational contexts.

Optimizing Existing Investments

Many enterprises have made significant investments in data centers, specialized hardware, and private cloud infrastructure. A hybrid approach allows organizations to continue leveraging these investments while selectively adopting cloud services where they provide the most value. Rather than facing a binary “all cloud or no cloud” decision, hybrid strategies enable a gradual, prioritized modernization journey.

This optimization extends the useful life of existing assets while allowing for strategic adoption of new capabilities. Organizations can depreciate current infrastructure according to normal cycles while focusing new investments in areas that drive business differentiation. This balanced approach often delivers better ROI than either maintaining the status quo or pursuing aggressive “lift and shift” cloud migration.

Balancing Control and Agility

Hybrid cloud architectures create a balance between the control and security of private infrastructure and the agility and innovation of public cloud platforms. This balanced approach addresses the often-competing priorities of different stakeholders within the organization.

Security and compliance teams gain:

• Direct physical control over sensitive systems and data
• Ability to meet specific regulatory requirements
• Customized security controls for high-risk workloads
• Demonstrable compliance for auditors

Development and business teams benefit from:

• Rapid access to innovative cloud services
• Self-service provisioning for development and testing
• Elastic capacity for variable workloads
• Access to specialized capabilities without major capital investments

This balance helps organizations navigate the tension between security and innovation that often characterizes digital transformation initiatives. Rather than positioning these priorities in opposition, hybrid approaches find the appropriate environment for each workload based on its specific requirements.

Addressing Varying Workload Requirements

Different applications and workloads have distinct infrastructure requirements based on their performance needs, data characteristics, compliance mandates, and usage patterns. Hybrid architectures provide the flexibility to place each workload in its optimal environment.

Workloads with strict latency requirements, specialized hardware needs, or complex licensing constraints may perform better in private infrastructure. Applications with variable demand patterns, global distribution requirements, or innovation focuses often benefit from public cloud capabilities. Hybrid approaches allow organizations to make these placement decisions based on workload characteristics rather than forcing all applications into a single environment model.

Common workload placement patterns include:

• Performance-sensitive core systems in private infrastructure
• Customer-facing applications in public cloud for global reach
• Data analytics spanning environments based on data sensitivity
• Development and test environments in public cloud for flexibility
• Disaster recovery leveraging cloud for cost-effective standby capacity

This workload-centric approach optimizes both performance and cost by leveraging the right infrastructure for each specific application need.

Enhancing Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Hybrid architectures create new possibilities for business continuity and disaster recovery by enabling organizations to leverage multiple infrastructure environments as part of their resilience strategy. Rather than duplicating expensive private infrastructure for failover purposes, organizations can use public cloud resources as backup environments or distribute workloads across environments for higher availability.

Common hybrid continuity approaches include:

• Cloud-based disaster recovery for on-premises systems
• Active-active deployments spanning private and public infrastructure
• Backup storage in cloud environments with point-in-time recovery
• Traffic distribution across environments to minimize regional impacts
• Capacity bursting to handle unexpected demand spikes

Organizations report that hybrid approaches typically reduce recovery time objectives (RTOs) by 30-60% compared to traditional disaster recovery approaches while simultaneously reducing the cost of maintaining standby infrastructure.

Addressing Data Sovereignty and Compliance

As regulatory requirements for data protection and privacy increase globally, organizations face complex compliance challenges that vary by geography, industry, and data type. Hybrid cloud architectures enable organizations to implement location-specific data strategies that address varying compliance requirements.

Sensitive personal data subject to regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, or industry-specific mandates can remain in private infrastructure with appropriate controls, while less sensitive information leverages public cloud economics. This data-centric approach ensures compliance without sacrificing the benefits of cloud adoption for appropriate workloads and data classes.

Implementation Approaches and Best Practices

Successfully implementing hybrid cloud requires thoughtful planning and execution across multiple dimensions. Organizations that report the highest satisfaction with their hybrid cloud initiatives typically follow several proven practices throughout their implementation journey.

Strategic Workload Assessment and Placement

Effective hybrid implementation begins with a comprehensive assessment of the application portfolio to determine optimal placement for each workload. This assessment should consider multiple factors for each application:

• Performance requirements (latency, processing, throughput)
• Data characteristics (volume, sensitivity, access patterns)
• Security and compliance mandates
• Integration dependencies
• Cost considerations
• Operational requirements

Based on this assessment, organizations can develop a workload placement strategy that guides migration planning and future application deployment decisions. The most effective approaches use a structured framework like the 5 Rs of cloud migration (Rehost, Refactor, Revise, Rebuild, Replace) but extend it with a “Retain in private infrastructure” option to create a true hybrid decision matrix.

Establishing Consistent Operating Models

Operational consistency across environments reduces complexity, improves reliability, and enhances team efficiency. Organizations should work to standardize processes, tools, and practices across their hybrid landscape wherever possible:

• Implement consistent deployment methods spanning all environments
• Adopt infrastructure as code approaches for all resource provisioning
• Standardize monitoring and management tools with cross-environment visibility
• Develop unified security practices that apply consistently regardless of location
• Create common governance frameworks addressing all infrastructure components

This consistency reduces the cognitive load on IT teams, minimizes environment-specific training requirements, and enables more efficient operations across the hybrid landscape. Organizations that achieve high levels of operational consistency report 40-60% lower management overhead compared to those maintaining environment-specific processes and tools.

Building Comprehensive Security Frameworks

Security in hybrid environments must span boundaries while providing appropriate protections for each environment type. Successful organizations implement security as a consistent framework rather than as environment-specific controls.

Effective hybrid security typically includes:

• Unified identity and access management across all environments
• Consistent encryption standards for data at rest and in transit
• Network security controls at environment boundaries and within each environment
• Vulnerability management spanning all infrastructure components
• Security monitoring with centralized visibility and analytics

This comprehensive approach prevents security gaps at environment boundaries while enabling appropriate risk management based on data sensitivity and compliance requirements. Leading organizations implement security automation that applies consistent policies across their entire hybrid landscape, reducing both risk and administrative overhead.

Implementing Cost Management and Optimization

Hybrid environments introduce complex cost structures that require active management. Organizations should implement comprehensive cost visibility and optimization strategies:

• Deploy cost monitoring tools that span all environments
• Implement consistent resource tagging for allocation and analysis
• Regularly review resource utilization and right-sizing opportunities
• Optimize reserved capacity purchases across environments
• Establish FinOps practices that include both cloud and on-premises resources

Organizations with mature hybrid cost management practices typically report 20-35% lower overall infrastructure costs compared to those without active optimization programs. This optimization often involves shifting workloads between environments based on changing economics and requirements.

Real-World Applications of Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid cloud architectures have been successfully implemented across diverse industries to address specific business challenges. These real-world examples illustrate the flexibility and value of hybrid approaches in different contexts.

Financial Services: Balancing Innovation and Compliance

Financial institutions face strict regulatory requirements for customer data protection and transaction security while simultaneously needing to innovate in customer-facing services. A major banking institution implemented a hybrid architecture that maintains core banking systems and customer financial data in private infrastructure while deploying customer-facing web and mobile applications in the public cloud.

This approach allowed them to meet regulatory requirements for sensitive financial data while gaining the agility to update customer-facing applications weekly rather than quarterly. They implemented a secure API layer between environments that provides controlled access to core banking functions from cloud applications while maintaining appropriate data governance. The hybrid approach reduced their application development timeline by 60% while maintaining compliance with financial regulations.

Healthcare: Optimizing Clinical Operations and Research

Healthcare organizations manage highly sensitive patient data subject to strict privacy regulations while also conducting data-intensive research and analytics. A large healthcare provider implemented a hybrid architecture that keeps patient records and clinical systems in private infrastructure while leveraging public cloud for de-identified research data and analytics.

Their approach maintains HIPAA compliance for protected health information while enabling researchers to access powerful cloud-based analytics services for population health studies and treatment optimization. The organization implemented a secure de-identification pipeline that prepares appropriate data for cloud-based analysis while keeping source records in controlled environments. This approach accelerated their research capabilities while maintaining patient privacy and regulatory compliance.

Retail: Managing Seasonal Demand with Cloud Bursting

Retail organizations typically experience dramatic fluctuations in demand, particularly during holiday seasons and special promotions. A major retailer implemented a hybrid architecture that maintains core operations in private infrastructure while using public cloud for capacity bursting during peak periods.

Their e-commerce platform operates primarily from their own data centers, but automatically extends to cloud resources when traffic exceeds predefined thresholds. This approach allows them to handle holiday shopping traffic that reaches 8-10x their normal volume without overprovisioning their primary infrastructure. The retailer estimates this hybrid approach saves approximately 40% in infrastructure costs compared to sizing their private environment for peak capacity.

Manufacturing: Integrating Operational Technology with Cloud Analytics

Manufacturing companies often have significant investments in operational technology (OT) environments that control production equipment and require ultra-low latency. A global manufacturer implemented a hybrid architecture that maintains OT systems and real-time controls on-premises while leveraging public cloud for predictive maintenance analytics and supply chain optimization.

Their approach keeps critical production systems isolated for security and performance while enabling advanced analytics that combine production data with external factors like weather, supplier information, and market trends. The manufacturer implemented a secure data pipeline that transfers appropriate telemetry to cloud analytics platforms while keeping sensitive operational controls isolated. This hybrid approach improved production efficiency by 14% through predictive maintenance while maintaining the security and reliability of their manufacturing operations.

Future Trends in Hybrid Cloud Computing

The hybrid cloud landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with several emerging trends shaping its future development. Organizations planning hybrid strategies should consider how these trends might influence their long-term architecture.

Edge Computing Integration

Edge computing—processing data closer to where it’s generated rather than in centralized data centers—is becoming increasingly integrated with hybrid cloud architectures. This distributed approach addresses use cases requiring ultra-low latency, local data processing, or operation in environments with limited connectivity.

Major cloud providers are extending their services to edge locations through offerings like AWS Outposts, Azure Stack Edge, and Google Distributed Cloud. These solutions bring cloud capabilities to remote locations while maintaining consistent management with centralized cloud resources. Organizations in manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, and healthcare are particularly active in integrating edge computing into their hybrid strategies.

AI and ML Across Hybrid Environments

Artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads present unique challenges and opportunities in hybrid environments. These workloads often require significant computing resources during training phases but more modest resources for inference and deployment.

Organizations are implementing hybrid AI strategies that leverage public cloud for model training and development while deploying trained models in private infrastructure for production use. This approach optimizes both cost and performance while addressing data sovereignty concerns for sensitive information. Cloud providers are developing specialized tools for AI model portability to facilitate this hybrid approach to AI/ML workflows.

Hyperconverged Infrastructure Evolution

Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI)—software-defined systems combining compute, storage, and networking in integrated platforms—is evolving to better support hybrid cloud architectures. Next-generation HCI solutions provide consistent operational models between on-premises deployments and cloud environments.

These solutions simplify hybrid management by providing common control planes spanning private and public resources. They enable organizations to maintain operational consistency while leveraging both private infrastructure and public cloud services based on specific workload requirements.

Sustainability Considerations

Environmental impact is becoming an increasingly important factor in infrastructure decisions. Organizations are considering energy efficiency, carbon footprint, and sustainability metrics when designing their hybrid architectures.

Cloud providers typically operate more energy-efficient data centers than most private facilities, but data transfer and redundancy across environments can impact overall sustainability. Forward-thinking organizations are implementing “carbon-aware” workload placement that considers environmental impact alongside traditional factors like cost and performance.

Conclusion

Hybrid cloud computing represents a pragmatic approach to IT infrastructure that recognizes a fundamental truth: different workloads have different optimal operating environments. By strategically combining private infrastructure with public cloud services, organizations can optimize for security, compliance, performance, cost, and innovation simultaneously rather than forcing tradeoffs between these priorities.

The successful implementation of hybrid cloud requires thoughtful architecture, consistent operations, comprehensive security, and active optimization. Organizations that approach hybrid as a strategic capability rather than merely a technical implementation achieve significantly better outcomes from their investments.

As technology continues to evolve, hybrid architectures will incorporate new capabilities like edge computing, AI/ML optimization, and sustainability considerations. However, the fundamental value proposition—providing the right environment for each workload based on its specific requirements—will remain constant.

For most enterprises, the question is no longer whether to adopt hybrid cloud, but rather how to implement it most effectively for their specific business needs. By understanding the core components, best practices, and real-world applications described in this article, organizations can develop hybrid strategies that create sustainable competitive advantages in an increasingly digital business landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions: Hybrid Cloud Computing

General Hybrid Cloud Concepts

What is hybrid cloud computing?

Hybrid cloud computing is an IT architecture that combines on-premises infrastructure (private cloud or traditional data centers) with public cloud services, creating an integrated environment where workloads can move between private and public platforms based on business needs. The key characteristic is integration—with unified management, consistent security, and workload portability across environments.

How is hybrid cloud different from multi-cloud?

Hybrid cloud specifically combines private infrastructure (on-premises or hosted private cloud) with public cloud services. Multi-cloud refers to using multiple public cloud providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) but doesn’t necessarily include private infrastructure. Many organizations implement both approaches simultaneously—a hybrid multi-cloud strategy—leveraging private infrastructure alongside multiple public cloud providers.

What types of organizations benefit most from hybrid cloud?

Organizations with diverse workload requirements typically benefit most from hybrid approaches, particularly those with:

• Regulatory compliance requirements for certain data types
• Existing significant investments in data center infrastructure
• Applications with varying performance, security, and scalability needs
• Cyclical or unpredictable demand patterns
• Need to balance innovation with control and governance

Implementation and Architecture

What are the essential components of a hybrid cloud architecture?

A comprehensive hybrid cloud architecture includes:

• Robust connectivity between environments (dedicated connections, VPNs)
• Unified identity and access management
• Consistent security controls spanning all environments
• Workload orchestration capabilities (often container-based)
• Data management and integration mechanisms
• Unified monitoring and management tools

How do I decide which workloads should stay on-premises versus move to the cloud?

This decision should consider multiple factors:

• Data sensitivity and compliance requirements
• Performance needs (latency, processing power)
• Cost structure (including both direct infrastructure costs and operational overhead)
• Integration with other systems
• Scalability requirements and demand patterns
• Application architecture and portability

What networking considerations are important for hybrid cloud?

Networking is critical for hybrid success, with key considerations including:

• Bandwidth capacity between environments
• Latency requirements for cross-environment communication
• Security at network connection points
• Consistent IP addressing and routing
• Traffic management and load balancing
• Redundancy for connection paths

How do containers and Kubernetes fit into hybrid cloud strategy?

Containers provide application portability across environments, packaging applications with their dependencies to run consistently regardless of the underlying infrastructure. Kubernetes enables consistent orchestration of these containers across hybrid environments, with platforms like Google Anthos, Azure Arc, and Red Hat OpenShift extending this orchestration across both private and public infrastructure.

Business and Financial Considerations

What are the primary business benefits of hybrid cloud?

Key benefits include:

• Optimizing existing infrastructure investments
• Placing workloads in their ideal environment based on requirements
• Balancing security/compliance with innovation
• Improving business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities
• Enabling cloud bursting for variable demands
• Providing flexibility to adapt as requirements evolve

How can we manage costs effectively in a hybrid environment?

Effective cost management requires:

• Comprehensive visibility across all environments
• Consistent tagging and resource attribution
• Regular review of resource utilization and right-sizing
• Strategic use of reserved capacity and commitments
• Understanding fully-loaded costs (including operations, data transfer, etc.)
• Implementing FinOps practices across all environments

What skills do teams need for successful hybrid cloud management?

Teams should develop expertise in:

• Infrastructure as code and automation
• Identity and security across multiple environments
• Container orchestration and application portability
• Network design spanning private and public infrastructure
• Cost optimization across diverse environments
• Cloud service integration with on-premises systems

Security and Compliance

How do we address security in hybrid environments?

Security should be implemented as a consistent framework spanning all environments:

• Unified identity and access management
• Consistent encryption standards and key management
• Network security controls at environment boundaries
• Vulnerability management across all infrastructure
• Security monitoring with centralized visibility
• Automated policy enforcement in all environments

Can hybrid cloud help meet data sovereignty and compliance requirements?

Yes, hybrid cloud can be particularly valuable for compliance, enabling organizations to:

• Keep sensitive data in specific jurisdictions as required
• Implement appropriate controls based on data classification
• Maintain direct control over systems with strict regulation
• Document clear boundaries and controls for auditors
• Apply consistent governance while optimizing workload placement

Advanced Topics and Future Trends

How does edge computing relate to hybrid cloud?

Edge computing extends hybrid architectures by bringing computing resources closer to data sources and users at the network edge. Modern hybrid architectures often span from edge to on-premises to cloud in a continuous computing fabric, with consistent management and orchestration across all tiers. Cloud providers are increasingly offering edge solutions that integrate with their central services.

How are AI/ML workloads typically deployed in hybrid environments?

Organizations often use a hybrid approach for AI/ML:

• Development and training in cloud environments with specialized hardware
• Deployment of trained models in private infrastructure for production use
• Data preparation spanning environments based on sensitivity
• Specialized AI hardware on-premises for specific high-performance needs
• Cloud-based AI services integrated with on-premises applications

How is hybrid cloud evolving for sustainability?

Organizations are increasingly considering environmental impact in their hybrid strategies:

• Evaluating energy efficiency across different environments
• Implementing carbon-aware workload placement
• Optimizing data center utilization through workload consolidation
• Using cloud resources in regions with renewable energy sources
• Considering equipment lifecycle and e-waste implications

What role do managed services play in hybrid cloud strategies?

Managed services are increasingly important in hybrid environments:

• Cloud-provider managed services extended to on-premises (like AWS Outposts)
• Third-party management of private infrastructure components
• Specialized managed services spanning environments (security, monitoring)
• Database and analytics services that work consistently across environments

These services can reduce operational burden while maintaining hybrid flexibility and control over critical workloads and data.

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