What is hybrid cloud?
A hybrid cloud is a flexible cloud computing model that combines public and private cloud environments to create a unified infrastructure. It enables organisations to move data, applications and workloads seamlessly between different environments, depending on their performance, security, or compliance requirements.
In a hybrid setup, companies use a mix of on-premises infrastructure and cloud services provided by external providers. This combination allows them to store critical data securely on private setups while taking advantage of the public cloud’s scalability and cost efficiency.
By integrating computing resources across clouds, a hybrid approach ensures improved oversight, flexibility, and management capabilities. It’s ideal for organisations looking to modernise their IT infrastructure without giving up existing hardware or applications.
In essence, hybrid cloud computing gives you the best of both worlds—the reliability of private data storage and the agility of public cloud services—to create a smarter, more adaptive cloud environment.
How does hybrid cloud work?
A hybrid cloud links private and public environments so data and applications move easily between them. It unites infrastructures under one management layer using virtualisation, networking, and orchestration. Sensitive data stays on a private setup, while scalable services run in the public cloud to balance cost and output.
By connecting these environments, businesses can allocate resources dynamically to match efficiency needs. Solutions like Rancher and Nutanix solutions keep application deployment consistent across clouds, while automation simplifies management. This flexible model boosts agility and gives organisations full control over their data.
Benefits of hybrid cloud
- Flexibility and scalability – A hybrid cloud allows you to scale applications, storage, and workloads across multiple environments. During busy periods, you can expand into the public cloud for extra capacity, then scale back when demand drops, all without overinvesting in physical infrastructure.
- Cost efficiency – By combining the cloud with on-premises resources, you only pay for what you use. Critical applications can run on secure, private cloud, while other services take advantage of cost-effective public cloud options. This model helps reduce operational costs and improve long-term infrastructure management.
- Enhanced security – A hybrid and multi-cloud setup lets you protect data within private clouds or dedicated servers, while still benefiting from the agility of public cloud services. This layered security model supports compliance with strict data protection regulations.
- Improved performance and reliability – Load can be distributed intelligently across environments to ensure optimal performance and prevent downtime. Advanced network configurations and load balancing keep your applications running smoothly.
- Business continuity and disaster recovery – Critical data and applications can be mirrored across clouds, ensuring business operations continue even if one environment fails. This resilience helps safeguard both uptime and customer trust.
- Unified management – Centralised management tools, such as Nutanix NC2 and Rancher, simplify how you oversee resources, data, and applications across different clouds, improving visibility and operational efficiency.
- Encourages innovation – Developers can experiment and deploy new services faster by using hybrid cloud. With access to modern cloud technologies like containers and Kubernetes, teams can innovate safely without affecting core systems.
Why businesses choose hybrid cloud
Modern businesses are embracing the hybrid cloud because it gives them flexibility, control, and scalability, all in one adaptable infrastructure. Here’s why so many organisations choose this computing model:
- Balance between control and agility – A hybrid cloud blends the reliability of a private setup with the scalability of the public cloud, helping organisations stay agile while protecting data.
- Cost optimisation – Companies can run essential applications in private environments while moving variable or high-demand projects to public clouds, reducing unnecessary costs.
- Improved efficiency – Load can be distributed intelligently across environments, ensuring better application speed, data access, and overall system output.
- Enhanced security and compliance – Sensitive data and regulated projects stay protected within private clouds or dedicated servers, meeting security and compliance requirements.
- Faster innovation – Hybrid and multi-cloud models enable teams to deploy new applications and services quickly, making it easy to test, refine, and scale ideas with modern cloud tools.
- Business resilience – By spreading workloads across multiple clouds and environments, organisations can ensure uptime, disaster recovery, and overall operational continuity.
Comparing Private and Public Cloud Models
Private Cloud
The private cloud gives you full control and management over your setup, and is perfect for securely managing data and meeting compliance needs. Hosted on-premises or via dedicated servers, it gives businesses complete control over data management and security. It’s ideal for organisations with strict regulatory requirements and provides complete oversight of where and how data and applications are managed.
Public Cloud
In a public cloud, the provider manages all physical infrastructure and software platforms. Businesses rent the resources they need without maintaining complex systems. This setup offers instant scalability—servers and instances can be added or removed in just a few clicks. Its flexibility lets organisations scale up during busy periods and reduce costs when demand drops.
Hybrid cloud use cases
A well-planned hybrid cloud strategy helps businesses combine the strengths of public and private cloud environments to meet performance and data management goals. Some of the most common use cases include:
Disaster recovery and backup
Protect critical applications, data, and workloads by replicating them across multiple clouds or datacentres. If one environment fails, another instantly takes over, ensuring seamless continuity and minimal downtime.
Scalable workload management
Run day-to-day services on a private setup and burst into the public cloud during busy periods. This on-demand access to extra resources improves performance while keeping costs in check.
Application modernisation
Move legacy applications to a hybrid cloud without rewriting them entirely. This approach lets organisations keep stable, on-premises setups while benefiting from modern cloud tools and services.
AI, analytics, and batch processing
Use the public cloud for data-intensive tasks such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, or big-data analysis, while keeping data securely stored in a private cloud or dedicated servers.
Development and testing environments
Build and test applications in scalable public clouds, then move them to secure private environments for production. This speeds up delivery and supports agile business practices.
Regulatory compliance
Store regulated or confidential data on private infrastructure to meet compliance requirements, while leveraging public cloud scalability for less sensitive workloads.
Hybrid cloud vs multi-cloud: understanding the difference
A hybrid cloud connects public and private environments, letting data and applications move seamlessly between them. It offers flexible management, strong security, and full visibility over resources. Sensitive data stays in-house while scalable services run in the public cloud.
A multi-cloud setup uses multiple providers without direct integration, giving businesses freedom to choose the best service for each task. This approach prevents vendor lock-in and improves resilience and performance. Many organisations combine hybrid and multi-cloud models to build flexible, future-ready infrastructures.
Challenges of hybrid cloud adoption
While hybrid cloud offers flexibility and scalability, it also comes with a few challenges that organisations must consider before deployment:
- Integration complexity – Connecting public and private cloud environments can be challenging. To maintain stable performance and user experience, applications, data, and workloads need to seamlessly move between environments.
- Security management – Protecting data across multiple clouds requires strong encryption, secure access, and ongoing monitoring. Misconfiguration or inconsistent policies can create vulnerabilities.
- Visibility and oversight – Managing distributed resources across environments can limit visibility. Without unified management tools, teams may struggle to track usage and costs across all cloud providers.
- Compliance and regulation – Different cloud services and regions have various standards. Organisations handling confidential or regulated data must ensure that every cloud provider meets industry requirements.
- Vendor interoperability – Not all cloud platforms communicate easily. Ensuring compatibility between multiple providers or legacy systems can complicate infrastructure management.
- Skill and resource gaps – Deploying a hybrid and multi-cloud environment requires skilled IT teams familiar with cloud computing or automation—something not all organisations have in-house.
Which businesses should consider hybrid cloud?
A hybrid cloud isn’t just for large companies; it’s a practical choice for many organisations looking to modernise their IT systems while maintaining flexibility and control. The following types of businesses often benefit most from adopting a hybrid cloud model:
- Companies with existing on-premises systems – This model is ideal for companies that already operate private infrastructure or dedicated servers and want to extend capacity with public cloud resources.
- Data-sensitive industries – Organisations in healthcare, finance, or government can use hybrid cloud to securely store data in-house while running less critical applications in the public cloud.
- Businesses with dynamic workloads – This setup is perfect for teams with fluctuating application or workload demands. They can scale quickly into the public cloud during peak usage without compromising performance or overinvesting in hardware.
- Enterprises seeking better cost management – Hybrid setups allow companies to balance cost and performance by using the right environment for each service.
- Organisations needing business continuity – By running mirrored workloads or backups across multiple clouds, companies can maintain uptime even in case of outages or disaster recovery events.
- Innovation-driven teams – Development teams can quickly test and deploy applications using hybrid and multi-cloud solutions, while integrating new technologies like AI, containers, or Kubernetes into existing systems.
Hybrid cloud security
Hybrid cloud security is about protecting data and applications across connected public and private cloud environments. The consistent flow of information across these infrastructures requires strong policies and visibility.
Strong protection relies on encryption for data storage and transfer, alongside strict access management and continuous monitoring. Each environment—whether on dedicated servers, on-premises systems, or public cloud—must follow the same security standards.
A well-structured hybrid and multi-cloud approach can even enhance overall security. By keeping data within private infrastructure and running less critical applications in the public cloud, organisations reduce exposure and risk.
Unified management platforms then bring everything together under a single view, allowing IT teams to apply consistent policies, detect threats quickly, and protect every cloud environment with confidence.
OVHcloud Hybrid Cloud Solutions
OVHcloud offers flexible hybrid cloud solutions designed to help businesses connect public and private environments seamlessly. These tools empower organisations to manage projects, increase compute power, and maintain strong protection across their entire setup.
Getting started with OVHcloud – Recommended solutions
Ready to start building your own hybrid cloud infrastructure? OVHcloud offers a wide range of cloud services and solutions to help you create the right mix of public and private environments. Whether you need advanced data storage, powerful applications, or secure infrastructure management, you’ll find flexible options tailored to your business needs.
- OVHcloud Public Cloud – Scale your applications and services on demand with flexible cloud designed for agility, efficiency, and easy integration into your hybrid infrastructure.
- Hosted Private Cloud (VMware-based) – Modernise your infrastructure with a managed private cloud that delivers full control, strong protection, and seamless connection to your public cloud environments.
- Bare Metal Servers – Power your most demanding tasks with dedicated servers that give you superior performance and enhanced data protection.
- Nutanix on Bare Metal – Simplify your hybrid cloud management with scalable, unified infrastructure that optimises data and application performance across multiple environments.
- Managed Kubernetes Service – Accelerate your development with fully managed Kubernetes orchestration that simplifies container deployment across hybrid and multi-cloud platforms.
- OVHcloud Connect – Link your on-premises infrastructure securely to the OVHcloud network with a high-speed private connection that keeps your data isolated from the public internet.
- Object and Block Storage – Protect, store, and scale your data effortlessly with reliable cloud storage built for backup, disaster recovery, and hybrid applications.
- Load Balancer – Keep your applications fast and available with intelligent traffic distribution across cloud services.
- Security and Compliance tools – Safeguard your infrastructure with built-in DDoS protection, firewalls, and compliance-ready security tailored for hybrid cloud operations.