As we continue the movement toward a work-from-anywhere environment, the need for mobility and flexibility is necessary for organizations looking to thrive in a world increasingly reliant on accessibility. One way of addressing this growing trend is by embracing cloud technologies and building solutions capable of existing in the cloud.
Organizations and IT teams are taking note of the favorability and expectations that come with cloud technologies by dedicating resources to optimize products and services for the cloud. But what is cloud computing? In order to understand cloud computing, we must first understand what it means to be on-premises.
What is Cloud Computing?
Traditionally, on-premises (on-prem) infrastructure is considered local or in-house, meaning the technology is installed and run within the physical confines of an organization, commonly known as a company’s data center. The alternative to on-prem is cloud computing, or a remote environment where technology is capable of running on servers outside of the data center.
The Value of Cloud Computing
Through the use of virtualization, cloud computing allows organizations to access and operate infrastructure technology off-site, also known as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The ability to run applications and services like data storage, backup, software and servers remotely is possible through the internet due to enhancements in network connectivity and security such as Virtual Private Cloud services that extend on-premises private networks out to public cloud resources securely . While cloud-based technologies are growing rapidly, hybrid cloud combines the remote capabilities of cloud computing with on-prem infrastructure to provide organizations with the elasticity and reliability of cloud platforms for backup and disaster recovery.
At Scale Computing, we recognized the need to embrace the growing interest and capabilities of cloud computing while also providing customers with the traditional options of on-prem infrastructure. Through partnerships with other technology companies and our own innovations, we offer on-premises hyperconverged infrastructure and edge computing as well as cloud computing services and storage, meaning organizations are able to experience the benefits of a hybrid cloud infrastructure and find the strategies that work best for them.
We partnered with Google and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to develop a hybrid cloud solution that makes it easy for organizations, including channel partners and MSPs, to move application workloads freely in the cloud or on-premises. Through our partnership with Google, we’ve extended the reach of HC3 hyperconvergence to the cloud. Nested virtualization in Google Cloud Platform allows Scale Computing to run HC3 in the cloud and replicate data between cloud and on-prem HC3 systems. Connecting HC3 systems between on-prem and cloud opened the way for the built-in data protection features to be used for Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS).
Now, with HC3 Cloud Unity, your on-prem HC3 system can be connected to, and protected by, the cloud. By deploying a virtual HC3 appliance on Google Cloud Platform, VMs can be replicated securely and protected for failover and disaster recovery. HC3 Cloud Unity is an ideal option for smaller organizations without a second site for disaster recovery, or for organizations that prefer the flexibility and availability of the cloud.
We also recently announced the addition of Acronis Cloud Storage to our existing partnership with the company, providing customers of Scale Computing HC3 with the benefits of a hybrid cloud solution that provides disaster recovery protection and cyber-threat mitigation. This end-to-end storage and cloud backup solution can protect entire virtual machines (VMs), providing bare-metal restore capabilities, and can restore to dissimilar hardware or platforms if required.
Does Cloud Computing Make Sense For You?
At Scale Computing, we know accessibility, reliability, scalability, seamless management and seamless networking, and complete disaster recovery are necessary components to maintaining business resilience, especially during times of uncertainty. As businesses have found continued success by embracing and exploring cloud technologies during the pandemic, they will rely on a hybrid cloud architecture model to provide business continuity and peace of mind in the months that follow and beyond.
If you’d like to learn more about HC3 Cloud Unity, visit https://www.scalecomputing.com/hc3-cloud-unity. If you have any questions, or want to experience the benefits and extended reach of HC3 hyperconvergence in the Google Cloud Platform, please fill out the form at the bottom of our contact us page.