Clouds are changing the way data is to be managed across multiple environments. There are private clouds (in existing data centres) and public clouds. Infrastructures can be considered hybrid when private and public clouds remain as unique entities but data and an application is shared among them. The key abilities required by this type of hybrid SharePoint infrastructure is security, flexibility and scalability.
Why a hybrid solution is required
A business may require IT to deploy specific solutions in the cloud while maintaining the private (on-premises) SharePoint Server 2013 farm. For example, some sensitive data cannot cross geographical boundaries, not even accessed; this data must remain in the private cloud (on-premise). Data where such regulatory restrictions are not applicable can be accessed from a public cloud. Hybrid solutions help organizations to do things.
Cost Control
- Pay only for what you use.
One of the biggest advantages enterprises derive from cloud computing is the ability to shift the cost of infrastructure from capital expenses to operating expenses. This eliminates the need to configure infrastructure for peak usage, instead offloading incremental usage onto external cloud systems. In SharePoint 2013 case web servers and application servers can be deployed onto a private cloud. The number of these servers can be increased and decreased depending on the demand.
- Save on disaster recovery.
In many cases, enterprises create backup tapes and ship them to a disaster recovery service for archiving. In a hybrid cloud computing infrastructure it takes less time to replicate data off-site and less time to restore data when that becomes necessary. The company can subsidize the cost of the new DR system by eliminating tape and shipping costs.
SharePoint Hybrid Configurations
A SharePoint Server 2013 hybrid environment enables identity management and trusted communications between SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server 2013. You need to establish a trust framework between them. Integrated functionality can be configured between services and features such as Search, Microsoft Business Connectivity Services and Duet Enterprise Online for Microsoft SharePoint and SAP.
Currently there are the following three hybrid topologies supported for hybrid SharePoint solutions.
- One-way outbound
- One-way inbound
- Two -way
Each hybrid solution depends on a secure communications channel and a specific trust relationship between SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server 2013. The decision on which topology is suitable depends on business requirements like search, regulatory requirements like for data and technical requirements like custom code.
(All the following pictures are from Microsoft Technet: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn607308(v=office.15).aspx.)
One-way outbound
An outbound authentication topology lets the on-premises SharePoint Server 2013 farm make authenticated connections to SharePoint Online as shown below.
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One-way inbound
An inbound authentication topology lets SharePoint Online make authenticated connections to the on-premises SharePoint Server 2013 farm as shown below.
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Two-way
A two-way authentication topology lets SharePoint Online make authenticated connections to the on-premises SharePoint Server 2013 farm and lets the on-premises SharePoint Server 2013 farm make authenticated connections to SharePoint Online as shown below.
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SharePoint 2013 Hybrid Cloud Success Stories
There are many success stories for SharePoint Online and Hybrid models as shown by the company's logos below.
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A few with URLs are listed here.
DONG Energy
In order to utilize SharePoint Online in Office 365 for records management, while still providing enterprise wide taxonomies and search across SharePoint Online and existing SharePoint on-premise farms, DONG Energy partnered with Microsoft Consulting Services to establish a hybrid cloud. More details at:
http://www.serviceaware.com/Resources/CustomerStory/DongEnergy
Coca-Cola Enterprises
A critical component of the corporate intranet portal at CCE was the integration of SAP user role information into its on-premises Active Directory® service and its Microsoft SharePoint Online environment. This will allow CCE to target the right information to the right employee based on roles outlined in SAP. By integrating SAP data into SharePoint sites, CCE employees can access data using recognizable Microsoft Office programs, giving employees the ability to make information for business operations easy to find, share and update. More details at http://www.microsoft.com/india/casestudies/microsoft-office-live-meeting/coca-cola-enterprises/coca-cola-enterprises-selects-microsoft-sharepoint-online-to-advance-productivity/4000004609
Microsoft Corporation
Since 2009, the Microsoft Legal and Corporate Affairs group has used Records Center in SharePoint Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2013 and SharePoint Online to support an evolving and maturing records management solution-on-premises and in the cloud-throughout its business. More details at http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Microsoft-SharePoint-Server-2013/Microsoft-Corporation/Microsoft-Boosts-Records-Management-with-Built-in-Features-of-Collaboration-Solution/71000000338.