A hybrid cloud is any solution that combines a cloud model with any other cloud or non-cloud deployment model. Most organizations tend to gravitate to the hybrid models as no single model or deployment type matches up to the multiple applications and services needed to support a business. Many applications cannot migrate readily to new services. Application dependencies may introduce additional risk for migrated applications. There is rarely a situation where everything is forklift moved all at one time from current state to future state. Hybrid is the typical path to the cloud for currently deployed applications and infrastructure.

In a hybrid IT environment, private clouds, public clouds, community clouds, traditional data centers, and services from service providers can be integrated and interconnected. Applications and services can then be deployed to and consumed from the most appropriate combination of services and environments.

Key benefits of the hybrid model are retention of ownership and oversight for critical tasks, reuse of earlier technology investments, tighter control over critical business components and systems and more cost-effective options for non-critical business functions. Cloud bursting and disaster recovery options can also be enhanced by using hybrid cloud deployments.

The basic understanding of the cloud deployment models are shown here: