Hybrid cloud
Also known as: hybrid cloud computing, hybrid cloud environment
Hybrid cloud is an IT setup that combines an organization's own on-premises servers or private cloud with public cloud services such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, connected so data and applications can work across both.
Organizations use it to keep sensitive or legacy systems in-house while gaining cloud flexibility for other workloads. While hybrid cloud offers a practical middle path, running two environments adds complexity in networking, security, and skills.
Hybrid cloud, explained at three levels
At home
Hybrid cloud is like keeping valuables in a home safe while storing everyday items in a rented storage unit. You choose where each thing belongs.
At work
Hybrid cloud lets organizations keep sensitive or older systems in-house while using the cloud for everything else.
At home
A home network storage device that also backs up to the cloud is a small-scale hybrid setup.
At work
Hybrid setups connect sites to clouds through VPNs or private links, extend identity systems such as Entra ID across both, and use common management tools for servers wherever they run.
At home
Keeping a local copy of your important files alongside cloud storage protects you if either fails. In my opinion, that's hybrid thinking at its best.
At work
Design consistent security policies, monitoring, and backup across environments, manage network latency and egress costs, and document which workloads live where and why.
Real-world examples
At home
Nadia keeps her family photos on a home storage drive and backs them up automatically to the cloud, giving her both quick access and off-site protection.
At work
Jerome manages IT for a Sudbury mining company. Equipment control systems stay on-site for reliability, while email, HR, and analytics run in the cloud.
How it compares
| feature | Hybrid cloud | Multi-cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Environments | On-premises plus public cloud | Several public clouds |
| Main reason | Keep some systems local | Avoid lock-in, use best services |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Can combine | Yes, with multi-cloud | Yes, with hybrid |
Hybrid mixes your own systems with cloud. Multi-cloud mixes providers.
For analysts
In cloud strategies, I'd document the reason each workload stays on-premises. Without reasons, 'temporary' hybrid arrangements last forever.
History & origin
As public cloud grew in the late 2000s, many organizations couldn't or wouldn't move everything, due to regulations, legacy systems, or costs. The term 'hybrid cloud' became common in the early 2010s. Microsoft leaned into hybrid with Azure Stack, announced in 2015, and Azure Arc in 2019, while AWS launched Outposts in 2019 to place AWS hardware in customer data centres, and Google launched Anthos the same year. Many organizations that rushed fully into the cloud later moved some workloads back on-premises for cost reasons, a trend called 'cloud repatriation.' In my view, hybrid is less a strategy than the reality most organizations live in.