Hybrid cloud is the new end state for agencies increasingly concerned with financial operations because it offers a pay-as-you-go model for bursting into the cloud when needed.
Early adopters tend to be agencies that require stronger data protections and have leadership open to the culture change and the funding to transition.
The government shifted from its Cloud First to its Cloud Smart strategy because the former viewed the cloud as a destination, and agencies raced to move workloads there without considering the costs and mission agility. The reality is the cloud is a pattern — a newer operating model where agencies must strategically move workloads in and out, scaling up or down as required to meet their needs.
Fortunately, agencies today increasingly understand they need to shift workloads to a mix of private, public and on-premises infrastructure.
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There Is No Single Hybrid Cloud End State
The hybrid cloud end state looks different for every agency because their risk levels and the regulations and policies they must adhere to vary. Each agency must determine the optimal mix of capabilities across the different infrastructures available to them.
The Department of Defense’s various branches manage their capabilities separately, as do the Department of Homeland Security and the intelligence community. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the U.S. Courts system operates in pockets of capabilities.
None of these agencies can afford full data centers to handle certain workloads, especially when you factor in artificial intelligence’s resource requirements.
The agencies focused on maintaining top-tier data sensitivity and application readiness have moved to hybrid cloud because it offers a happy medium between storing all workloads in either the cloud or data centers. While the cloud can be less complex, agencies find that resources can sit there unused, and that’s just bad FinOps.
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What It Takes to Move to Hybrid Cloud
When CDW Government is brought in to help agencies go hybrid, the first questions the team asks are, what is the agency’s mission and what are the desired outcomes from any workload migration? This core level of understanding helps chart a course that will meet the agency’s compliance requirements.
The team also wants to know if there is an affinity toward one cloud or another, and whether the proper staffing is in place. Shifting to a hybrid cloud pattern will require the upskilling of staff, as their current workforce is likely used to supporting classic, data center service delivery.
Agencies attempting to train their workforce after downsizing will find it hard because the staff that remains will need to handle more tasks and responsibilities. Alternatively, agencies can bridge the resulting skills gap by augmenting their workforce and leaning on industry partners to provide this training.
CDW Government is not about putting bodies in seats but rather promoting culture change within agencies through workshops that promote collaboration between operations, security and even development teams. Agency siloes are roadblocks to embracing hybrid cloud, and employees need proper training to overcome them.
This article is part of FedTech’s CapITal blog series.
