As organizations in various sectors increasingly utilize data and technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to achieve their business objectives, many are facing challenges with outdated infrastructure. Isolated data silos and complex workarounds can lead to delays, higher operational costs, and risks related to functionality, compliance, and security.
In response to these challenges, some organizations are turning to hybrid solutions that combine cloud and on-premises environments. However, these platforms may not be effective if data cannot move seamlessly and rapidly between environments or if data workloads need to remain on existing infrastructure due to compliance or governance requirements.
Furthermore, security, compliance, and governance requirements may vary, necessitating additional measures to ensure data integrity, completeness, and safety. This can tie up limited IT resources and cause delays. Additionally, these solutions may not be equipped to handle the volume and complexity of data needed for accurate analytics and AI model development.
A more efficient approach is a “true hybrid” platform that enables seamless movement of data workloads across environments, allowing the organization’s data—and the AI and analytics it supports—to operate securely and efficiently. This approach leads to increased operational efficiency, enhanced computing power, and improved performance, unlocking opportunities for scalability and growth.
The Data-Powered Business Environment
Data availability and quality are identified as the primary challenges in achieving AI at scale, according to more than a third of IT leaders surveyed. Over half of respondents also highlighted governance and compliance as barriers to end-to-end data management.
True hybrid solutions offer consistent functionality and security across all environments without manual intervention. By leveraging a unified platform, organizations can efficiently manage data loads, data management, and computing requirements for analytics and AI across cloud and on-premises environments.
Industry Analyst Andrew Brust from Blue Badge Insights explains, “True hybrid goes beyond simply deploying to multiple infrastructures in isolation—it enables seamless movement of data, analytics, and AI across all environments to ensure adaptability and value delivery.” To achieve this, enterprises need a scalable and flexible data architecture that can scale alongside their growth.
True hybrid encompasses key elements such as:
• A distributed cloud model. This architecture allows cloud services distributed across different data centers, clouds, or edge computing sites to function as a single platform, enabling centralized control over operations and updates across various locations.
• Portable and interoperable data services. The platform should facilitate easy movement of data and workloads between systems, with seamless communication and exchange at each stage of the data life cycle, including ingestion, transformation, warehousing, and machine learning.
• Consistent data security, compliance, and governance. A unified platform enables organizations to enforce one set of policies and access controls across all environments.
These elements offer numerous benefits, such as streamlining security, compliance, and governance processes, reducing the burden on internal resources, cutting IT costs, and minimizing the risk of human errors.
For instance, a global consumer credit company managing over 200 data warehouses for tens of billions of transactions each month experienced technical challenges and increased expenses due to varying data restrictions from local governments. Transitioning to a true hybrid model helped the company reduce operational issues, training needs, and operational expenses by nearly $200,000 per month, enabling smoother expansion into new international markets and driving revenue growth.
True hybrid platforms not only enhance existing operations but also support data-driven decision-making and innovation crucial in today’s fast-paced global market.
Case in point, IQVIA, a provider of advanced analytics and research services in the life sciences industry, significantly improved data analysis efficiency by adopting a true hybrid strategy, eliminating delays in copying and moving data across numerous siloed locations. This improved performance allowed IQVIA to accelerate clinical drug trials and development, bringing life-changing medications to market more quickly and efficiently.
True Hybrid: The Path Forward
A true hybrid platform offers advantages beyond operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. By addressing siloed data challenges, enhancing performance, and supporting scalability, the true hybrid approach serves as a crucial platform for organizations seeking to optimize their data for accurate planning and robust, data-driven insights that fuel business innovation and growth.
Discover how close your enterprise is to attaining true hybrid with your existing data and analytics approach.
