Hybrid cloud is a computer programming architecture used by IT teams to reap the benefits of both the private and public hosting environments. These work in tandem to run an organisation’s workload.
The benefits of such a strategy are well-established. Dual architecture allows both sensitive data and customer activity to remain on premise (in the private cloud), while also enabling analysis and workloads in the public cloud environment.
So how should a bank go about building hybrid cloud architecture? This article explores how institutions with the appetite can assess their existing infrastructures, define business cases, design the right architecture for their needs, and, finally, migrate
successfully.
The below outlines a 10-step process to establish a hybrid cloud strategy.
1. Define the vision
First, draw up a vision statement. This should include not only short and long-term business goals, but an assessment of the institution’s incumbent environment, systems, and applications. Which elements need improvement? Would a hybrid cloud strategy achieve
this?
2. Determine the strategy goals
With a vision established, it is imperative to lay out the business case. What exact benefits would hybrid cloud architecture bring? Can these be quantified and guaranteed?
Whether its improved customer experience, streamlined operations and compliance, cost optimisation, scalability, backup and disaster recover, or data security enhancement – each goal should be supported by a specific action plan.
3. Review workloads
Now it’s time to select which workloads should be run in which environment – remember, not all workloads are suitable for cloud migration. Workloads may encompass any service, system, or capability, that utilises cloud resources – be it databases, nodes,
applications, microservices or nodes.
This is a critical step, because workload placement greatly impacts operational efficiency. Project leaders should base their decisions on factors such as security requirements, performance needs, compliance regulations, and cost.
The best way to start is by assessing on-premises infrastructure, such as servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and datasets. How old are they? What are their capacity, performance, and security requirements? What upgrades are necessary for compatibility
with cloud services?
For the banks looking to pivot to a hypermodern, cutting-edge posture, workloads involving web content, big data analytics, and
artificial intelligence (AI), are well suited for hybrid cloud. In parallel these technologies can open doors for
chatbots,
personalised products, and an altogether enhanced customer experience.
4. Consider architecture patterns
With the workloads assessed, project leaders must now decide which architecture pattern works best for the original vision. While the organisation’s needs will be unique, there are a finite number of tried-and-tested hybrid cloud
architecture patterns.
Feeding into this are decisions around the network topology and technologies. Which topology allows all environments to be integrated most securely and reliably?
5. Select a partner
Once the project’s direction is clear, selecting the right cloud service provider is crucial. The ideal partner should be able to translate the institution’s vision into an action plan, demonstrate availability in all regions relevant to the organisation’s
operations, and deliver within budget. There should also be a wide range of services on the table – from computing to cloud storage, databases, and other bespoke solutions.
Key questions to ask prospective partners might include: Can you bridge private and public infrastructures by supporting the technologies we already have in place? How will downtime and costs be limited? Does the cloud management platform run on any cloud?
Do the orchestration tools also span clouds?
There will be many considerations that are unique to each institution and each vision, but compatibility is critical. There must be seamless integration between on-premises and cloud environments – as well as a smooth data and workload migration – via the
deployment of application programming interfaces (APIs), software-defined networking (SDN), or other tools.
6. Evaluate overall costs
Pricing models and service levels can vary significantly. There are cloud storage costs, platform costs, server costs, software maintenance costs, data egress costs, and more, to weigh up. Most of the time, each cost is set by the organisation’s requirements
and the value that is expected to be delivered.
In general, outgoings can be controlled by limiting the number of vendors, continually monitoring cloud spend, and even deploying cloud cost-optimisation software.
7. Design the hybrid cloud architecture
With these considerations in place, the exact hybrid cloud infrastructure can be drawn up alongside the partner. Well-designed architecture should factor in:
- Network topology: Consider the physical and logical arrangement of nodes and connections in the network. This is foundational to performance, security, and scalability.
- Data flows: How will data move between on-premise and cloud environments? Think about integration, security, and latency.
- Identity and access management (IAM): Work with the provider to agree on IAM policy, with controls to manage user access across resources.
- Secure network solutions: To establish a solid foundation for reliable data exchange.
8. Consider security, again
Once the architecture is designed, it is prudent to revisit security considerations. A hybrid, multi-cloud infrastructure prefers an end-to-end, holistic approach, since it often spans multiple IT environments, with numerous endpoints and varying levels
of control and visibility. Data encryption and zero-trust frameworks are highly recommended.
Depending on budget, institutions may consider hybrid cloud providers that combine AI, machine learning, and automation, to support real-time threat detection.
9. Consider compliance
Banks should build hybrid cloud environments that are sensitive to financial services’ complex and evolving regulatory landscape. This may involve reflecting where certain data types are permitted to reside – as per the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – or ensuring the final architecture itself is robust enough to satisfy the key pillars of the
Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
A best-in-class cloud provider should be able to guide institutions through these compliance challenges.
10. Migrate
While the requirements of every institution are different, there are several broad migration approaches that can help streamline the process. These
strategies include:
- Lift-and-shift: The process of migrating an exact copy of an application or workload from on-premises to public or private cloud;
- Refactoring: Modifying an application by leveraging cloud-native capabilities;
- Rebuilding: Creating new applications to rearchitect as needed.
Other solutions may need to be leveraged to ensure a successful transition – from workload management to orchestration tools and analytics. The overriding goal should be to automate tricky processes; ensure consistency and efficiency; while also leveraging
insights like resource usage, performance, and security.
Test, optimise, monitor, and manage
Once the migration has been successfully executed, the work begins!
In order to fully realise the benefits of a hybrid cloud strategy, institutions must commit to ongoing testing and optimisation, whether for performance, resource scaling, or disaster recovery.
By continuously fine-tuning infrastructure, organisations can maximise efficiency and innovation, ensuring their hybrid cloud strategy delivers long-term value.