You're Already Running Hybrid Cloud – Whether You Know It or Not

A Contributed Article by Vic Nyman, BlueStripe Software, Co-Founder
Too many times, buzzword reality doesn't match the hype.  In IT, too many buzzword-driven technologies are never implemented - destined to invade our vocabulary but never make it to the raised floor.   Fortunately, not only have Hybrid Cloud applications made it to the Data Center, they are changing the way IT Operations gets things done. In fact, Hybrid Cloud-based applications influence is so broad that your Operations team is probably running Hybrid Cloud apps already, even if they don't know it.  There are several reasons Hybrid Cloud is starting to make a difference in IT Operations shops large and small. 
First, a Hybrid Cloud environment can deliver the best of both worlds:

• The flexibility of on-demand systems in a Public Cloud allowing scalable user access
• The security and control achieved by running back-end systems on premises in the data center

Second, it is fairly easy for non-Operational organizations to setup a specific Cloud system and tie it to internal corporate systems.  From sales teams choosing a CRM system to HR running a job posting system, functionally-focused applications that run in the cloud must interface with internal corporate systems such as accounting or LDAP directory services - voila, Hybrid Cloud.
The hardest part of operating an application in a Hybrid Cloud environment isn't setting it up, or even connecting it to the back-end systems - its managing service performance, especially when problems occur.  Having application components both on premise and in the cloud wreaks havoc on conventional monitoring tools. Cloud management tools don't see inside the Data Center and Data Center tools can't see into the Cloud.
The key is End-to-end Transaction Monitoring.
IT Operations teams must turn to Transaction Monitoring solutions that do more than simply monitor response times.  To deal with the complexity of a Hybrid Cloud application, the monitoring tools must be able to trace transactions in the cloud and in the data center, while (this is the hard part) connecting them together for an end-to-end transaction view.
To help Operations teams understand these dependencies, application and transaction topology mapping is critical for both monitoring and problem solving.  Finally, the tools must be able to adjust its maps and dependency knowledge in real-time because Cloud systems are so dynamic.
To learn more, you might enjoy a presentation by Forrester Cloud Expert David Bartoletti at http://bluestripe.com/hybrid-cloud-webinar.