Hybrid Cloud Architecture

Hybrid cloud architecture connects distinct computing environments. Most often, it joins on-premises or private infrastructure to public cloud services. The useful question is not which provider appears in a diagram. It is where each component belongs and what must work across the boundary.

NIST defines a hybrid cloud as two or more distinct cloud infrastructures that remain unique entities but are bound by technology enabling data and application portability. In day-to-day architecture work, the term commonly includes connected on-premises systems. Treat the connection as a real boundary. It has latency, failure modes, ownership, and security consequences.

Start with placement

Start with a workload inventory. For every component, record its users, data classification, latency target, dependencies, recovery objective, operational owner, and required interfaces. Then choose placement.

A tiered design can keep a local data-producing system near devices while an application tier runs in the cloud. An edge design can process time-sensitive events locally and send selected results onward. A business-continuity design can keep a recovery path in another environment. A migration design can move components in stages while dependencies remain where they are.