Hybrid Cloud Consulting for Newton & Boston Businesses

What is hybrid cloud?

Hybrid cloud is a setup where some systems run on your own servers and others run in a public or private cloud, working together.

For most small and mid-sized businesses, that means keeping certain servers and data on site while using Azure, AWS or a private cloud for the workloads that benefit from it. The goal is to run each workload where it performs best without giving up control.

Which workloads should stay on-premise and which can move?

Sensitive data and performance-critical systems often stay on site, while workloads that need flexibility can move to the cloud.

• How sensitive the data is, including client records under 201 CMR 17.00 or patient data under HIPAA
• Whether the system must keep working if the internet goes down
• How predictable the cloud costs will be over several years
• How much data moves back and forth each day
• What your line-of-business software vendors support

AI is a good example. Many businesses keep AI on their own hardware so documents never leave the network; see our private AI server page.

How is this different from IBM hybrid cloud?

This page covers hybrid cloud for general business servers; IBM i environments have their own page.

If you run IBM i or AS/400, extending that platform into Azure, AWS or a private cloud has specific considerations. See IBM i hybrid cloud integration for that work.

How do you keep a hybrid environment secure?

By treating the cloud as part of your network, with the same access controls, monitoring and documentation.

• Multi-factor authentication and role-based access on both sides
• Encrypted VPNs or private connections between your office and the cloud
• Network segmentation so a problem in one place does not spread
• Monitoring for unusual traffic and logins
• Written policies that cover where data is stored

Our network security service covers the firewall and monitoring side in more depth.

What about backup and recovery in a hybrid setup?

Every location where data lives needs a tested backup, including the cloud.

Cloud providers keep their platforms running, but recovering your own deleted or encrypted data is usually your responsibility. Our backup and disaster recovery service plans for both sides.

How does a hybrid cloud project start?

It starts with an inventory of what you run today and where it lives.

A site survey reviews your servers, storage, backups and network. If your servers are still physical, server virtualization is often a sensible first step.