Hybrid Cloud:Meeting the needsof the three Cs
How hybrid cloud and infrastructure as a service provide solutions tobusiness needs across the C-suite – from the CEO and CIO to the CFO.

Cloud is the powerhouse of the digital economy. Increasingly, organizations are adopting cloud-firststrategies, with cloud-native platforms allowing them to scale quickly and flexibly in pursuit of new market
opportunities. Amid this dynamic environment, it is a hybrid cloud – combining public and private resources– which has emerged as the preferred architecture for when data security and sensitivity need to be
combined with other factors such as performance, efficiency, and cost. This whitepaper looks at how
hybrid cloud, delivered through infrastructure-as-a-service models, meets the needs of executives
across the C-suite – including the CEO, CIO, and CFO.

Introduction – hybrid computing comes to the fore
The adoption of cloud computing continues togather pace as enterprises of all sizes recognize
the benefits it can deliver in a broad range of areas,
including scalability, efficiency, performance, andcost. Indeed, according to research from Gartner,
the cloud is set to become the pervasive style ofcomputing in the near future, with more than 85
percent of organizations embracing a cloud-firstprinciple by 2025.
But there isn’t a one-size-fits-all to the cloud.
Public, private and hybrid architectures present
myriad options, delivering solutions either
through the internet or on-premise infrastructure
or a mixture of the two. Then there are different
consumption models to be considered. For
instance, infrastructure-as-a-service provides
compute, network, and storage resources toenterprises on a pay-as-you-go basis.

2Of the available options, hybrid cloud isincreasingly coming to the fore, as outlined in therecently published Technology and Cloud Security
Maturity survey from the Cloud Security Alliance.
Hybrid is a type of cloud computing that combines
on-premises infrastructure - or a private cloud with a public cloud. It allows data and apps tomove between the two environments, while being
centrally managed. Typically, an enterprise might
deploy on-premise infrastructure such as servers
and storage while operating public cloud services
for other less sensitive workloads.
The popularity of hybrid cloud is borne out by arecent survey from IBM, which showed that only
3 percent of respondents used a single private
or public cloud in 2021, down from 29 percent in2019. The study of almost 7,200 C-suite executives
across 28 industries and 47 countries showedthat hybrid was seen to answer many concerns
around vendor lock-in, security, compliance, andinteroperability.

HYBRID CLOUD: MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE THREE Cs

The advantages of hybrid infrastructure
So, what are the primary benefits of hybrid cloudinfrastructure, and how can they help transformthe performance of modern enterprises in today’s
digital economy?
Firstly, cost can be a significant driver of hybrid
cloud. Several years ago, many early adoptersrushed to the public cloud on the assumptionthat it would deliver financial savings whencompared to running on-premises infrastructure.
However, in many cases, monthly bills escalated
as consumption increased. Indeed, Gartner
predicts that 60 percent of infrastructure andoperations leaders will encounter public cloud
cost overruns through to 2024, with hidden
costs contributory factors.
Finding the right balance between public andprivate cloud models in on-premises data center
deployments can deliver significant savings
when the total cost of ownership is assessed.
While the public cloud can help reduce hardware
expenditure, running critical workloads and data in
on-premise environments can represent the mostcost-effective approach. Recent research by IDC
suggests that a consistent hybrid cloud platform
can achieve savings of up to 47 percent over five
years compared with a native public cloud whenevaluated for typical applications deployed on
cloud infrastructure by enterprises today. The
study underscores how consistent hybrid cloud
platforms can enable the benefits of cloud at scale
without introducing additional management andoverhead cost creep, ultimately reducing TCO.

3Performance and efficiency are critical factors,
too. Hybrid gives enterprises better control overdata – allowing them to create, shift, and scale
workloads and resources to suit the business’s
specific requirements. For instance, a scalable
public cloud can manage dynamic workloads,
while more sensitive data can be kept on-premise.
According to the IDG Market Pulse Global Surveyof 700 IT CIOs, 35 percent of respondents cited
increased flexibility as a critical factor in adopting ahybrid cloud. This flexibility supports more efficient
operations and is better suited to responding
quickly to ever-changing business needs.
Security has emerged as one of the criticaldrivers, as hybrid approaches allow for higher
levels of data segmentation and isolation. For
many IT leaders, using on-premise infrastructure
will reduce the potential data exposure, giving
them a more decisive element of control. Thiscan be a regulatory requirement in some sectors,
dictating data policies.
Other factors also come into play. Hybrid cloud
can help deliver increased levels of reliability bydistributing services across more than one datacenter. Hybrid implementations can also support
business continuity, encouraging a more multilayered approach to data back-up and preventing
disaster scenarios.
Ultimately, hybrid infrastructure provides a win-win
solution, as it offers the scalability and availabilityof public cloud but with on-premise flexibility,security, cost visibility and control. And that canbe a compelling sell for enterprises of all sizes as
they become ever-more reliant on digital strategies
to power future growth.

HYBRID CLOUD: MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE THREE Cs

New consumption models meet the needs of the three Cs
Those are some high-level advantages of hybrid
over other forms of infrastructure. To support
the deployment of hybrid cloud, innovative
consumption models have emerged based aroundinfrastructure-as-a-service, where the provision ofdata center hardware and software is combinedwith accurate utilization and metering technology
to give an authentic pay-as-you-go experience.
According to recent research from Gartner,
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is forecast to
experience the highest end-user spending growthfor cloud strategies in 2022 at 30.6%. IaaS isbecoming popular with the C-suite as it provides
access to the latest state-of-the-art hybrid cloud
solutions without upfront costs. Lenovo’s global
study of CIOs shows that 92 percent of chief
executive officers would definitely or probably
consider adding new as-a-service offerings overthe next two years due to a changing businessmodel. Furthermore, 57 percent said they would
replace half or more of their company’s current
technology. IaaS helps support these needs.
But the chief executive officer, chief information
officer and chief financial officer often havedifferent priorities, albeit with common goals
such as providing internal teams with thetime and resources to power business growththrough digital innovation. So, how can IaaS as aconsumption model fit within the cloud paradigm
and meet the needs of all stakeholders?
• The Chief Executive Officer needs to develop
high-level strategy and align plans with shortterm and long-term business needs. That
requires close alignment between IT and thebusiness and an overview of targeted technology
investments to give maximum return on
investment. IaaS allows hybrid cloud strategies

4

to be implemented with greater cost predictability
and visibility than traditional CAPEX models andensures that infrastructure is right-sized all thetime. IaaS also helps the CEO keep the businessahead of change, with faster refresh cycles.
• The role of the Chief Information Officer
is increasingly evolving to embrace a more
complex set of responsibilities, tackling obstacles
that come with expanding digital capabilities.
IaaS works for the CIO as it provides a meansof quickly provisioning and scaling new
capability, keeping enterprises ready for peakbusiness performance and growth. IaaS also
gives maximum security and control within
hybrid environments, with physical on-premise
infrastructure protecting sensitive data, while
public cloud maximizes the accessibility ofworkloads for employees - particularly relevantin today’s flexible working environment. Managed
services delivered through IaaS can also address
the existing resource gap in the IT market,
allowing the CIO to spend less time recruiting
and freeing up existing teams to concentrate on
broader issues of delivering digital innovation.
• The Chief Financial Officer is responsible forfinancial planning and forecasting within theenterprise and is expected to utilize financial
data to help establish strategy and direction.
IaaS offers a more authentic pay-as-you-go
consumption model, with advanced utilizationand metering technology measuring actual
usage rather than allocation, eliminating overprovisioning. Online portals can also provide
financial executives with real-time cost insightencouraging proactive monitoring that ensures
no budgeting surprises. Hybrid cloud consumed
through IaaS can therefore maximize the returnon available resources.

HYBRID CLOUD: MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE THREE Cs

Realizing the value of strategic partnerships
So, that outlines the benefits of hybrid cloud,delivered through rapidly evolving and increasingly
popular as-a-service consumption models. Anotherpiece in the jigsaw is the formation of strategic
alliances, where hardware and software technology
providers come together to provide solutions thatcomplement each other.
For Lenovo, these partnerships see its TruScale
IaaS solutions leveraging the latest technologies
in a broad range of areas such as virtualization,
hyperconverged infrastructure, high-performancecomputing, storage, and more. This partnershipapproach eliminates the complexity of dealing
with multiple vendors and navigating conflicting
solutions. TruScale delivers everything-as-a-service,overseeing engineering, integration, hardware,and certification using the best-in-class designs
developed by the partner ecosystem. With
everything embedded into the TruScale solution,
there is just one point of contact for all inquiries,
from support to invoicing.
For hybrid cloud specifically, these strategic
partnerships have involved some of the best-known
technology providers. For instance, Lenovo TruScale

5Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack or VMware
represent hyperconverged infrastructure cluster
solutions that host virtualized workloads and theirstorage in a hybrid environment. In each case, byleveraging Lenovo’s ThinkAgile VX and MX HCI
appliances, the partnerships mean enterprises canrun hybrid-cloud environments from the Edge toCore to Cloud with genuine consumption-based
price models.
Meanwhile, Hybrid Cloud with Deloitte is a partner
offering that evolved from specific customer
requirements and was built around the findings
from several mutual technical workshops. The
aim was to develop a hybrid solution thatcombined Lenovo’s infrastructure expertisewith Deloitte’s appliance stack knowledge andallowed customers to seamlessly manage multiple
cloud environments, private, public, and hybrid.
Each component was carefully put together,resulting in a hybrid solution that helps businesses
to orchestrate and manage IT environments
reliably, securely, and efficiently. The offering issafeguarded using Deloitte proprietary tools formonitoring, automation, security, compliance, andaccount management features.

HYBRID CLOUD: MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE THREE Cs

Adopting hybrid cloud through IaaS models
Finally, there have been several advances in theease of adoption of hybrid cloud through IaaS,
with technology providers working closely withenterprises to customize solutions for global orregional implementation. Hybrid cloud solutions
can be right-sized for initial implementation, withan accurate forecast of future needs.
Migration from existing infrastructure to IaaS
architecture also needs to be managed seamlessly.
Stage-gate process planning is used to minimize
any disruption to day-to-day business activities.
Modern automation and management tools are
deployed to reduce build times, and advanced

supply chain and logistics techniques used to
speed time to market. Customer service managers
are allocated to each deployment, ensuring thatenterprises have the proper levels of support on
the ground and that future capacity needs can beaccurately planned.
Service level agreements are also transparent,with clear delivery commitments and incentives
providing the end-user with peace of mind.
Resource consumption, whether compute storage,
memory, or virtualized desktops, is visible at alltimes, ensuring that end-users stay within OPEX
budgets and there are no surprises.

Conclusion – hybrid cloud as a service provides the answers
Hybrid cloud has clearly come of age, with almost nine out of ten organizations now having a
multi-cloud strategy, and 80 percent taking a hybrid approach by combining the use of bothpublic and private clouds.
Increasingly, this architecture is best delivered through as-a-service consumption models withscalability, visibility and cost-efficiency built in. These models answer the needs of executives
across the C-suite. From the CEO and CIO through to the CFO, IaaS provides specific business,
technical and financial benefits that can power the digital strategies of tomorrow.

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