Hybrid Cloud Application Delivery: 5 Challenges, 5 Solutions

If you’re thinking about a hybrid cloud delivery for your business, I encourage you to read this article. A hybrid cloud environment offers various benefits, from increased scalability and flexibility to reduced infrastructure and operational costs. But before you switch, it’s essential to evaluate how a hybrid cloud architecture will impact your application delivery strategy. Make sure you’re ready to deal with potential pain points before making the switch.

In a hybrid cloud environment, you’ve got a mix of private and public clouds, and each one brings its own set of security, privacy, compliance, and governance challenges. And with the need to deliver applications faster and more agile than ever, your tech teams need to be prepared to tackle these challenges head-on. But don’t worry! With some planning, you can shift your traditional IT infrastructure to the cloud without any hitches.

How does the hybrid cloud environment differ from the physical environment regarding application delivery and security challenges?

A hybrid cloud environment can give organizations the best of both worlds – allowing them to keep sensitive data on-site while still taking advantage of the scalability and flexibility of the cloud. In the cloud, applications are delivered as a service, typically over the Internet. And users can access the applications from any location, using any device connected to the Internet. So, when it comes to cloud security, both the provider and the customer are responsible for protecting data and ensuring that only authorized users have access to it. This can be challenging to manage, as the provider is responsible for securing the infrastructure while the customer must secure the applications and data.

5 Challenges. 5 Solutions

1. Security and Compliance

The number one challenge with hybrid cloud environments is that customers have to take care of securing their applications and data. The provider is only responsible for protecting their infrastructure. This can be a blind spot for the customer because they might not be aware of all the security risks connected with their applications. Additionally, hybrid cloud environments can be complex, making it difficult to implement security controls and identify potential threats. Finally, compliance measures can be challenging in the hybrid cloud.

Solution: Unified security and compliance management for disruption-free access

A centralized control panel makes it easier to view, filter, and compare security policies and output from all the devices managed in the inventory. This way, you can be sure that your company’s security measures are up to par and compliant with any and all compliance requirements. Additionally, a solution that identifies and mitigates violations in policy configurations will help you maintain a high level of security for your business.

2. Load balancing multiple applications and devices

If you’re running multiple copies of your application on different cloud platforms, you must ensure that each one gets the right amount of traffic. Otherwise, you could end up with one cloud or load balancer being overloaded while the other sits idle.

Solution: Intelligent load balancing to manage application traffic

Automated and centralized monitoring of the devices in each cloud separately is crucial to ensuring optimal traffic balance between different clouds and application instances. The LBaaS (Load Balancer as a Service) approach is a simple and effective way to meet the company’s agility and application traffic demands.

3. Diverse Operating Environments and Application Disparity

It can be complicated to manage application services at scale due to the need to enforce different network and security policies across diverse operating environments. A complex delivery architecture across hybrid/multi-cloud network environments can slow down remediation for application-level threats. In addition, different geographies have different infrastructure requirements that must be considered when designing and delivering applications.

Solution: Centralized application visibility and real-time reports

Solutions that offer holistic visibility into applications and traffic flows are becoming increasingly important for companies to avoid network performance issues. Real-time status reports of application services make it easier to track down metrics and solve problems more quickly, regardless of location.

4. Device Upgrades and Data Migration

When companies migrate their applications to the cloud, they need to be absolutely certain that the application will work in the cloud environment and that their data will be migrated without any errors. One of the things to consider before making such a move is the cost, as cloud providers charge based on the resources used. Another potential obstacle is upgrading software versions of BIG-IPs/load balancers in a hybrid cloud environment. This can be difficult due to the complex feature set of BIG-IP appliances and modern load balancers.

Solution: Automated device upgrade & data migration via network orchestration

Automating your F5 NGINX load balancer device upgrades will save you time and money while reducing the risks associated with the project. Additionally, having complete control and visibility into every stage of the data migration process is critical to ensuring the accuracy and security of your applications and data.

5. Data Recovery and Disaster Management

There are two main challenges when using hybrid cloud services for disaster recovery: ensuring all data and applications are backed up properly and providing a quick and smooth failover process. If either falls through, it can cause significant disruptions and be expensive to manage.

Solution: Instant and periodic backup and restoration processes

A solution that automatically backs up information from devices without human intervention is the best way to ensure that frequent and periodic copies of the data are taken and stored securely to be used later for data recovery or restoration. This way, you can be sure that your data is always safe and sound, no matter what happens.

Complete visibility, control, and automated application delivery are no longer an option but a critical requirement.

As we move from Infrastructure as a Service to Platform as a Service and from Platform as a Service to Software as a Service, the challenges of managing applications in the hybrid cloud will be a primary focus for both enterprises and service providers. Network automation will be a crucial enabler of the effective management of applications, data, and infrastructure in the hybrid cloud.

Check out AppViewX ADC+ to fully automate, orchestrate, and self-service your application delivery across hybrid cloud environments.