Advantages of a hybrid infrastructure with interconnection

22/04/2021

What is a hybrid infrastructure?

Hybrid infrastructures are the combination of two elements: physical servers located in their own data centre or an external data centre, or a private cloud infrastructure, such as an IaaS platform, integrated with one or more public cloud services with providers such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud, among others.

The integration of the two environments not only makes sharing applications and information between them simple but also allows for segmenting and maintaining critical components and applications in a more secure data centre or private cloud, over which you have a greater degree of control, while keeping other items in the public cloud.

Hybrid infrastructure, due to its flexibility, enables the speeding up of digital transformation projects to facilitate the mass deployment of products and services using the latest technologies while keeping a high level of control.

The security of communications between both environments is a critical need, so it is essential to have a data centre as a partner. In this way, companies can add a greater layer of security and control over connectivity to ensure data integrity and business continuity. The interconnection between both environments, the private and the public, is key to hybrid architectures.

Advantages of hybrid infrastructures

1. Maintain control over critical parts of the infrastructure. In a hybrid model, there is a significant reduction in dependency on public clouds and all critical infrastructure and key data can be kept in a private environment over which you have complete control. This allows for flexibility and responsiveness in a changing environment, as changes to the infrastructure configuration in public clouds can be made with minimal impact. This model also makes it easy to migrate to another public cloud provider to take advantage of cost or security improvements.
2. A better user experience thanks to its speed. A hybrid environment isn’t always faster than an infrastructure based entirely on a public cloud. However, keeping a part of the environment in a data centre or a private cloud enables firms to optimize the infrastructure to reduce latencies. It is also possible to use the versatility of a hybrid infrastructure to incorporate edge computing models that can bring part of the workload closer to users.
3. Increased safety and risk reduction. Public clouds, however well protected they may be, are inherently less secure than private infrastructures. This makes them unsuitable for hosting critical data. In a hybrid architecture, however, security can be managed more efficiently, with a risk model that takes into account the advantages and disadvantages of each environment.
4. Scalability of infrastructure without the need for large investments. One of the key benefits of hybrid architectures is that they allow you to expand your computing and storage capacity to meet your needs without having to a make large capital investment. Relying on a public cloud can increase operational capacity quickly, enabling you to make the most of business opportunities. Similarly, infrastructure can be reduced without the hassle or cost of managing obsolete or badly used equipment.

What is interconnection and why is it so important?

As previously mentioned, the linchpin in a hybrid infrastructure is interconnection. Although interconnection, understood as the physical and virtual connections that allow communication and data exchange between different nodes, has always been one of the pillars of the industry, the rise of hybrid infrastructures has made it even more important. 

Interconnection facilitates the efficient exchange of data between a data centre and a public cloud service thanks to its connectivity infrastructure that provides high speeds, great reliability and very low latency. It also improves security, as connections do not pass through the internet, and allows significant cost savings.

This type of dedicated connectivity is increasingly in demand due to the growth of cloud services. Network managers are now connecting data centres, multiple public cloud providers, private clouds, offices, and other access points, in systems of increasing complexity. A direct interconnection simplifies management.

Benefits of direct interconnection with public clouds

1. The first benefit is security. A direct connection significantly reduces the attack surface and risk. Moreover, a provider of this kind of connectivity solution, such as a data centre, can also integrate solutions from cybersecurity providers to further strengthen connections. 
2. A direct connection to public clouds is inherently faster than a connection through the public internet. According to one study, a direct connection can reduce latency by an average of 44%. The connectivity is not only faster but also much more reliable and consistent, thereby ensuring quality connectivity at any time. The volume and type of content consumed, such as online video games or streaming movies and series, highlight the need for reliability in order to maintain a satisfactory user experience.
3. There is a positive cost impact, as a connection of similar quality by other means is significantly more expensive than a direct connection. In addition, it allows you to centralize connectivity to multiple public clouds with a single provider, allowing more visibility into operations and easier management for greater agility and productivity.

Direct connection to public clouds on Adam via DE-CIX

Adam and DE-CIX, one of the most important neutral internet access points in Europe, have partnered to create the first data centre in Spain to offer the DirectCLOUD service.

All Adam customers will have access to the DE-CIX Cloud Exchange service ecosystem and will be able to connect directly with public cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services or IBM Bluemix. In addition, Adam is the first DE-CIX partner to offer the Microsoft Azure peering service, a direct interconnection service with the Microsoft 365 Cloud.

In the words of David Ribalta, Director of Sales and Marketing at Adam, interconnection services “are complemented by our collocation and IaaS services, as clients can easily establish hybrid multi-Cloud, secure, flexible and high performance environments. This is a key step to accelerating the growth of companies through digital transformation”.