What is a hybrid cloud?
A hybrid cloud—sometimes called a cloud hybrid—is a computing environment that combines an on-premises datacenter (also called a private cloud) with a public cloud, allowing data and applications to be shared between them. Some people define hybrid cloud infrastructure to include "multicloud" configurations where an organization uses more than one public cloud in addition to their on-premises datacenter.
What are the benefits of hybrid cloud computing?
No matter which definition of hybrid cloud you use, the benefits are the same: When computing and processing demand increases beyond an on-premises datacenter's capabilities, businesses can use the cloud to instantly scale capacity up or down to handle excess capacity. It also allows businesses to avoid the time and cost of purchasing, installing, and maintaining new servers that they may not always need.
Are there regulatory issues with using a hybrid cloud model?
For industries that work with highly sensitive data, such as banking, finance, government, and healthcare, using a hybrid cloud model may be their best option. For example, some regulated industries require certain types of data to be stored on-premises while allowing less sensitive data to be stored on the cloud. In this kind of hybrid cloud architecture, organizations gain the flexibility of the public cloud for less regulated computing tasks, while still meeting their industry requirements.
Are there security issues with hybrid cloud infrastructure?
Organizations that use a hybrid cloud platform are able to take advantage of many of the same security measures that they use in their existing on-premises infrastructure—including security information and event management (SIEM) capabilities. In fact, some organizations find cloud hybrid security to be superior to that of their on-premises datacenter because of capabilities such as automated data redundancy, high availability, disaster recovery, and other robust cybersecurity features.
Related hybrid cloud computing products and services
Azure hybrid cloud solutions
Explore examples of hybrid cloud and Azure on-premises, multicloud, and edge solutions.
Azure Arc
Extend Azure services and management to any infrastructure.
Azure Stack
Build and run hybrid apps across datacenters, edge locations, remote offices, and the cloud.
Azure Hybrid Benefit
Migrate your workloads cost-effectively to the best cloud for Windows and SQL Server.
Azure VMware Solution
Seamlessly run VMware workloads across Azure and on-premises environment.
Azure Sentinel
Gain AI-enabled threat protection with a cloud-native SIEM.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Protect hybrid cloud workloads against threats with streamlined security.
Azure ExpressRoute
Privately connect on-premises networks to the cloud, and enjoy high speed and reliability.
Azure VPN Gateway
Connect your infrastructure to the cloud and enable remote user access at scale.