As a veteran of enterprise IT, there’s a difference between “hybrid by design” and “hybrid by accident.” Let’s be frank: you are probably doing hybrid by accident – just about everybody is.
Hybrid by accident is:
- Integrating public cloud with on-premises tech without standardizing on a common infrastructure-as-code practice.
- Shadow IT cloud “experiments” that suddenly become production (often to the chagrin of the infrastructure team).
- Outdated governance practices that slow everybody down.
Most IT pros will be shaking their heads knowingly at this point.
Hybrid By Design
Then there’s hybrid by design. Admittedly, it is trickier to execute. Most don’t get it right out of the box, but it can pay off huge dividends. Hybrid by design is:
- Realizing that infrastructure as code is a fundamentally different beast that requires different skill sets, policies, and practices to optimize
- Understanding that your I&O pros are now essentially developers, and you need to execute with a developer’s mindset during every step of the delivery cycle
- Recognizing that you are not going to get anywhere without automation, particularly configuration management and continuous delivery release automation tools
- Coming to grips with the fact that security without automation is a fool’s errand
- Understanding that the legacy players are evolving right alongside you
In my first year at Forrester, I have had the privilege to write alongside many great minds including Glenn O’Donnell, Robert Stroud, Richard Fichera, Dave Bartoletti, Joseph Blankenship, Charlie Betz, and many others. My journey to educate on hybrid is just starting, as your “hybrid by design” journey is likely beginning as well. Follow my work and we will make this journey together.
Chris Gardner is a senior analyst at Forrester Research. Read more Forrester blogs here.
