Page 7 - FCW, May/June 2018

HYBRID CLOUD
Answers to Many Defense Challenges Found in Hybrid Cloud
Consistency, interoperability and flexibility lead solutions.
In the realm of Defense Department priorities in digital transformation, cloud migration is at the top. Understanding cloud’s ability to support emerging technologies, which are necessary
to increasing operational speed and agility, DoD is taking significant steps.
“The Defense Department
still has extensive mission-critical assets in on-premises datacenters, commercial cloud service offerings, and contractor-owned facilities spanning multiple classification levels,” says Derek Strausbaugh, chief digital officer for Microsoft’s DOD team. “A hybrid approach
to cloud computing is optimal for accelerating adoption.”
Unlike multi-cloud, which involves multiple, uncoordinated cloud
service providers, hybrid cloud
allows one provider to orchestrate public and private resources to work interchangeably across on-premises and in the cloud and between internal and external services. A hybrid
approach has far-reaching benefits,
as it enables integration between cloud systems and areas that may lack reliable connectivity.
A hybrid cloud model means
that the DoD can choose the right balance between on-premises and public cloud – such as Microsoft’s hyperscale cloud, Azure – to meet unique security, compliance, and operational requirements. A consistent hybrid cloud environment also helps IT administrators manage, assess, and mitigate security threats. In addition, granular controls and single sign-
on reduce the risks associated with multiple users, devices, apps, and platforms, Strausbaugh said.
“Adopting cloud should not be
an all-or-nothing proposition,” he
said. “This is where hybrid cloud comes in. Some critical applications
in large enterprises may need to
stay on-premises for one reason or another, and that shouldn’t result in the cloud becoming a silo.”
PRODUCED BY: SPONSORED BY:
Microsoft Azure Government