An ever-expanding universe of cloud platforms, services, and applications have become fundamental to business and IT operations. Credit: Metamorworks / Shutterstock The cloud is no longer some distant, separate place. Yes, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google maintain unimaginably vast expanses of servers in cloud data centers around the world – as do thousands of SaaS providers. But those clouds and the services they deliver have become so entwined with customers’ on-prem operations, they’re now vital components of almost every enterprise IT estate. This intermingling takes many forms. For starters, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google now enable you to snap off a piece of their platforms in the form of racks of managed servers that live in your data center, preloaded with the same software that powers public clouds. Some of these on-prem cloud outposts can offer access to the gamut of services hosted by the cloud mothership. The enterprise data center is also veering toward the virtualized, containerized, ultra-scalable cloud model. For example, Dell, HPE, and Lenovo now offer on-prem clouds in the form of cloud infrastructure software running on pay-per-use hardware, overprovisioned to give you the headroom to increase capacity on the fly. Meanwhile, the big three cloud players are starting to tackle edge computing, offering mini-cloud solutions that quash cloud latency by delivering compute power and services physically close to far-flung transportation hubs, medical facilities, manufacturing plants, and so on. “Hybrid cloud” is the umbrella term for the endless combinations of on-prem and public clouds. In this Tech Spotlight, we dig into the complexities of hybrid cloud computing, with an emphasis on solving the challenges that arise from managing these intricate matrices of services and infrastructure. Along the way, we highlight “irresistible” cloud services that make the big public clouds so attractive in the first place. The cloud has become the modern model of computing – agile, scalable, rife with API-accessible services that can be strung together into powerful, purpose-built applications. It’s not in the sky anymore. It’s at the foundation. Related content news Hitachi Vantara launches unified storage platform Virtual Storage Platform One provides on-premises and cloud storage of both structured and unstructured data. By Andy Patrizio Apr 26, 2024 2 mins Enterprise Storage Data Center analysis Extreme demos AI-based network assistant Extreme AI Expert can answer network questions, troubleshoot operations, and create alerts for conditions such as network degradation or Wi-Fi dead spots. By Michael Cooney Apr 25, 2024 4 mins Network Management Software news Cradlepoint unveils 5G SASE platform for mobile, distributed environments NetCloud SASE integrates cellular SD-WAN and security capabilities into a cloud-based platform to secure and mitigate risk across managed and unmanaged devices. By Denise Dubie Apr 24, 2024 3 mins 5G SASE SD-WAN analysis IBM drops $6.4B for HashiCorp and its multicloud automation technology HashiCorp's automation technology will fit into IBM’s Red Hat, watsonx, data security, IT automation and consulting businesses. By Michael Cooney Apr 24, 2024 3 mins Data Center Automation Network Management Software Cloud Computing PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe