Demand for the hybrid cloud model is unequivocal. As cloud computing has evolved in recent years, organisations have come to realise they need different types of clouds and cloud services to meet different needs.

Hence the emergence of hybrid cloud – essentially an infrastructure with links between at least one private cloud and one public or third-party cloud. Ideally these links between clouds are ‘seamless,’ although that can be as much a goal as a reality today.

In a recent 451 Research survey of enterprise IT and information security vendors, close to three-quarters of the respondents have already embarked on a hybrid cloud journey – embracing a mix of private, public and managed clouds. While the reasons for this profound shift may vary across organisations, our survey indicates that improved IT operational agility for service delivery requirements and cost efficiencies relative to existing datacentre operations are far and away the most prevalent drivers.