In order for public sector organisations to obtain the full benefits of hybrid cloud, they need to continually learn, experiment and monitor
The rate of cloud computing adoption has led to its establishment as a fundamental platform for many organisations. Analyst firm Gartner found that cloud computing ranks among the highest on its disruption scale, with these services set to continue to grow in popularity, acting as a necessary enabler for future disruptions.
From a public sector point of view, even though two-thirds of organisations in the UK use cloud computing, the adoption rate is hampered by the need to maintain legacy IT infrastructure.
As a result, this hybrid IT model of maintaining on-premises infrastructure while taking on cloud services is the most common in the sector—according to a survey from Socitm and Eduserv, 64 percent of UK public sector organisations deploy their IT in this way.
Budget constraints are also a roadblock for many public sector organisations keen to fast-track their cloud adoption. It’s not just a matter of “out with the old and in with the new,” which is why many public sector IT teams manage older systems while incorporating cloud technologies.
While this may sound like a less than ideal situation, it’s actually the opposite. For these organisations, hybrid cloud provides the peace of mind of on-prem with the agility, scalability, and flexibility of cloud, but, it’s important to know what the goals are and set expectations accordingly.
Here’s how those in the public sector can go about getting the most out of hybrid cloud:
Brush up on cloud knowledge
As with any IT project, the first step is to understand goals and set expectations accordingly. IT departments must remember the cardinal rule of cloud: one-size-fits-all does not fit all.
In the SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2018: The intersection of hype & performance, 95 percent of UK public sector respondents indicated cloud and/or hybrid IT are one of the top five most important technologies for their organisation’s IT strategy, so cloud isn’t going away any time soon. Although most installations will be multi-cloud, remember that each organisation requires its own strategy and you must be prepared to deliver it.