Small-scale demolition expert and YouTube star Tom Dickson has proven to the world that you can blend just about anything – iPads, aftershave, and even skeletons. On Tom’s web series “Will it Blend,” typically sturdy objects are ground down into tiny pieces that look like shavings or even fine powders. Although that’s not the goal of mixing when integrating technological infrastructure, the word is in that cloud computing WILL BLEND, and it will be blended more and more as companies act on their interest in the hybrid cloud.

Studies from 2013 and 2014 by numerous prominent organizations have shown that the hybrid cloud is growing in popularity, as outlined below.

Microsoft: YES, the Cloud Will Blend

Microsoft hired a third-party research firm, 451 Research LLC, to develop a study called The New Era of Hosting Services. Findings were based on perspectives collected from over 1500 businesses of all sizes in 10 nations: the US, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, Australia, Germany, the UK, and Brazil.

A report based on the data was released May 29, 2013 by former football star and neighborhood bully Bill Gates’ mom-and-pop computer shop.

The findings of that study are as follows:

• 52% of companies believed that through 2014 and 2015, the cloud would be a positive force in at least one of two ways, in general business development or adaptation to a novel strategic approach.
• The study also identified 2014 and 2015 as emergence years for the hybrid cloud, with 49% hybrid cloud deployment in 2013 (a figure that seems to be revealing a lack of understanding of the term more than actual deployments) versus 68% hybrid cloud plans to be completed by 2015 (the latter figure including systems already adopted).
• Transitioning from a legacy model to software-as-a-service (SaaS) did not mean that businesses were getting rid of their old applications. Instead, two out of three were using software through the cloud that was previously installed in-house.

Gartner: WOW, Look at the Cloud Blend

Gartner conducted a special report related to the hybrid cloud, which they released on October 1, 2013, entitled “Private Cloud Matures, Hybrid Cloud is Next.” The findings of that study concur with those of Microsoft (which provides credibility to the hybrid assessment and outlook, since Microsoft’s statistics are so high that they are a little difficult to believe). The cloud is going to blend, so go ahead and put on your safety goggles. General stats and analysis from Gartner are as follows:

• Almost 50% of large enterprises will have adopted hybrid clouds by 2017.
• A major reason hybrid clouds are now on the rise is that the private cloud became a proven, trusted, and commonplace model between 2010 and 2013. Gartner compared the situation of the hybrid cloud in 2013 to that of the private cloud in 2010: although there were not substantial deployments yet, many organizations intended to adopt the infrastructural approach soon.
• Cost reduction does help to make a strong case for the private cloud (as a component of the hybrid system), but that’s not enough to convince most organizations. Although expenses (both capital and operational) can be minimized, additional functionalities such as metrics, self-service software, and automation features bump the cost back up, so ” the driving factor for going that next step should primarily be agility.”
• Hybrid cloud will succeed now that organizations have a greater comfort level with private clouds but are deciding they make sense “only for the right services.”
• Choice of technology is critical. A pilot project may be small in scope at the beginning, but the infrastructure should be ready for growth, both feature-rich and prepared for hybrid cloud integration. Gartner also suggested that you may want to consider fast ROI with your infrastructure so that you have your money back in a couple years, since technology is developing so rapidly.

Tech Pro Research: There’s NOTHING Like a Cloud Blend

Finally, Tech Pro Research backed up the findings of the above two studies in its report, called, “Hybrid Cloud: Benefits, Roadblocks, Favored Vendors.” The report was released on June 30, 2014. It compiled responses to a worldwide survey of 138 tech professionals conducted in May. Findings included:

• 93% of IT professionals surveyed were familiar with the notion of a hybrid cloud. Familiarity was higher at the enterprise level: 87% of those at companies with 50 or fewer employees recognized the concept, while 95% did at organizations with workforces of 1000+ people.
• Among those familiar with what a hybrid cloud is, 33% said they already had one deployed. An additional 37% said their organization was currently reviewing hybrid cloud for potential deployment in the near future.

Will the Cloud Blend? Three Thumbs Up.

As you can see, tech industry analysis is overwhelming that the hybrid cloud is quickly growing in popularity. However, large enterprises appear to be the primary early adopters of the technology, according to MarketsandMarkets.

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By Kent Roberts

Image Credit: Will It Blend?