The Hybrid Hive has spent the best part of a year discussing Hybrid IT and the issues it raises for businesses today. But there has never been a proper benchmark of attitudes and behaviour towards this approach among IT decision-makers globally. We surveyed 1,050 IT decision-makers (ITDMs) from seven countries around the world to get their honest views on Hybrid IT. The results? A clear indication from ITDMs that Hybrid is the future of corporate IT. But a stark warning, too: there are still significant knowledge gaps around this approach, which is doing nothing to abate the security concerns of senior IT leaders. Read the full report for lots of insight around Hybrid IT, along with some sound advice from Hybrid experts.

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H Y B R I D H A B I T S
M E A S U R I N G H Y B R I D I T A T T I T U D E S
A N D B E H A V I O U R A M O N G
I T D E C I S I O N - M A K E R S G L O B A L L Y
JUNE 2016
T H E H Y B R I D H I V E

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I N T R O D U C T I O N
The corporate IT
landscape is evolving
more quickly than any of
us could have imagined.
While reliability and cost efficiency are still
important, traits such as adaptability and agility
are becoming increasingly critical to survival in
the disruptive and fast-moving modern
business environment.
But how are large corporates – with their
existing IT infrastructure and processes –
managing to achieve that balance?
According to our latest report, Hybrid Habits, in
which we surveyed 1,050 IT decision-makers
(ITDMs) from across the globe, the answer is
Hybrid IT.
Two-fifths of respondents already have a
Hybrid IT environment in place, while a further
51% are open to it. Companies are spending
almost a third of their total IT budgets on
cloud, with 14% spending more than half on
this technology.
These figures tell a simple but significant story:
we are in the middle of a Hybrid revolution.
The rise of Hybrid itself will likely not come as a
shock to many ITDMs. This report is therefore
focussed on why this approach is fast
becoming the norm, along with the
implications for organisations that choose to
adopt it and also for those that don’t.
Our research suggests that those in the latter
camp are at risk of being left behind by early
adopters.
And that’s the key point here: reaping the
benefits of Hybrid IT – from faster and better
adaptability to transforming company culture –
is not just about survival. It’s about opening
opportunities and staying ahead of the
competition when the demand for innovation is
increasing.
1,050IT decision-makers (ITDMs) surveyed
7countries around the world
40%of respondents already have a Hybrid IT
environment in place

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A H Y B R I D F U T U R E I S
I N E V I T A B L E
Perhaps the most significant finding from this
survey is the general consensus that, despite the
sceptics, Hybrid is going to play a significant part
in the future of corporate IT.
The vast majority (73%) of ITDMs expect the
proportion of their budget dedicated to cloud to
increase in the next three years, while only a tiny
minority (5%) expect it to decline.
But our survey revealed something deeper than
a simple desire to increase investment in Hybrid
IT. What we discovered is a shift in attitude, from
ITDMs considering the Hybrid environment as
one potential option, to them seeing it as a
business-critical part of their future
infrastructure.
Four-fifths (79%) of ITDMs told us they believe it
is inevitable that the future of corporate IT
infrastructure is Hybrid, while 81% agree they
will have to deploy a Hybrid IT environment to
achieve company objectives.
This kind of language – ‘inevitable’, ‘achieve
company objectives’ – moves us away from
something that is simply about cost-saving,
flexibility, or agility, and towards an approach
that is increasingly seen as imperative to
company success by the majority of senior IT
leaders.
As businesses switch from traditional to
digital channels, their expenditure on cloud
is increasing. This has a ‘drag’ effect, where
the wider organisation is pulling the IT
department with it towards cloud adoption.
As a result we’ll soon see more IT
departments accelerating along this route.”
Mark Phillips, Head of Hybrid IT, Fujitsu EMEIA

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If the future of Hybrid is indeed inevitable as
our survey respondents suggest, the question
for ITDMs now is not whether they need to
invest in the Hybrid environment, but rather
when, how, and to what extent.
Those that strive to get it right now –
particularly those who begin to build the
Hybrid environment with wider company
objectives in mind – will inevitably benefit from
a competitive edge over those who are
perhaps slower to take up the approach.
As we’ll explore in the next section of this
report, the long-term impacts of Hybrid
implementation include a heightened ability to
innovate and increased speed to market. The
idea of competitors enjoying those benefits
while others are not could be a worrying
prospect indeed to ITDMs in the latter camp.
73%expect the proportion of their budget
dedicated to cloud to increase in the next
three years
79%believe it is inevitable that the future of
corporate IT infrastructure is Hybrid
81%agree they will have to deploy a Hybrid IT
environment to achieve company objectives

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D O N ’ T I G N O R E T H E
L O N G - T E R M B E N E F I T S
Looking at the above figures, there can be no
doubt that Hybrid is not only here to stay, but on
the verge of becoming essential for business
progression.
The question remains, however, as to why
adoption of this approach is so quickly on the
rise.
This is where we’ve seen some really interesting
findings that perhaps reflect general changes
we’ve seen in the business world in recent years.
Cost reduction, for example, is a huge motivator
for Hybrid IT adoption. In our survey it came out
top, with 57% of respondents citing it as a main
driver. This is hardly surprising at a time when
cost-reduction is high on the agenda for many
businesses.
Flexibility and agility, too, are traits that many
modern companies are keen to possess, as they
help them to adapt to new technologies and
rapidly changing consumer behaviour. It seems
fitting, then, that both these traits would score
highly. Half (51%) of respondents pinpointed them
as key reasons to adopt a Hybrid IT environment.
These findings also seem to tie in with what our
ITDM respondents find most attractive about the
Hybrid IT environment.
ITDMs should indeed be focused on areas
such as cost reduction and improved agility,
but equally, if they want to get the best out
of Hybrid IT investment, they must not lose
sight of the longer-term positive impact it
could have on their business.”
Andrew Brabban, Head of Hybrid IT, Fujitsu

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But all of this tells another, potentially worrying,
story: when it comes to Hybrid IT adoption,
ITDMs seem to be focussing mostly on short-
term gains such as cost-saving, rather than
more long-term, transformational benefits.
Yes, Hybrid IT can have a very positive short-
term impact, but it is important that those
considering Hybrid adoption don’t lose sight of
the many potential long-term advantages in the
process.
The ability to innovate, for example, is more
important than ever as globalisation and
digitalisation make many industries increasingly
crowded and competitive. Yet less than half
(45%) of respondents cite this as a main driver
for Hybrid IT adoption.
Whilst ITDMs are expecting to spend more
on cloud, they also expect a return on
investment that will benefit the entire
business. 70% of respondents in Brocade’s
own survey of global ITDMs believed their
organisation could decrease costs, by 10%
on average, if its IT department had the
opportunity to be more flexible in its
approach and use of technology. Bottom
line: if the IT department could spend less
time ‘keeping the lights on’ maintaining
legacy systems, then more time could be
focussed on innovations for their network,
and using it as a platform that could really
transform the business.”
Marcus Jewell, vice president EMEA at Brocade
Greater flexibility came out top at 60%, with
improved efficiency and lower costs coming in
at 50% and 44% respectively.
These are all benefits that a Hybrid IT
environment can bring, and it’s positive to see
that ITDMs are aware of them. 37%agree increased speed to market is a benefit
of a Hybrid IT model
57%cite cost reduction as the main driver of their
Hybrid IT adoption

7. HYBRID HIVE | HYBRID HABITS 7
Other long-term benefits such as increased
speed to market (37%) and the need to digitise
(22%) also score relatively low. Again, this
seems surprising given how widely lauded
these areas are in the business world.
It’s also interesting to compare these results to
what global executives are saying, according to
another survey we covered in a blog post last
year, in which respondents – made up of 250
business execs from across the world –
expected to see faster ‘go-to-market’ times as a
result of Hybrid implementation.
ACTION POINT: Identify where digitisation could
drive business growth, then strengthen support for
Hybrid IT in those areas. This will help deliver those
long-term benefits.
IT is a department primarily driven by cost-
reduction rather than enhancing the top
line. But the more forward-looking CIOs
understand the need to do both. It’s OK for
cloud expenditure to increase if it’s driving
revenue in the process.”
Mark Phillips, Head of Hybrid IT, Fujitsu EMEIA

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S E C U R I T Y C O N C E R N S R E M A I N
T H E B I G G E S T B A R R I E R
The security aspect of cloud computing – and
indeed data sharing and storage in general –
has been a hot topic in recent years, with
plenty of press coverage that hasn’t always
painted things in the most reassuring light.
It therefore stands to reason that ITDMs, too,
would have a certain degree of hesitation
around the technology, particularly given what
could be at stake. More than two-fifths (43%) of
them, in fact, see strengthening security
generally as a top priority over the next three
years.
Security is clearly and understandably going to
be front of mind for this demographic, and our
research seems to reflect this. Half (49%)
of ITDMs see reduced security as the top risk
associated with Hybrid IT, and half again (48%)
say that securing their business from outside
attacks is their greatest concern when it comes
to Hybrid adoption.
From a business perspective, security is not
only a barrier to implementing a new IT
solution like hybrid IT, it is also a barrier to
digital transformation and building a
competitive advantage. For many
businesses with legacy systems, the
maintenance of data security and privacy is
consuming so much time that opportunities
to innovate and transform are being
missed.”
Marcus Jewell, vice president EMEA at Brocade
49%see reduced security as the top risk
associated with Hybrid IT

9. HYBRID HIVE | HYBRID HABITS 9
Concerns around security appeared in other
parts of our survey, too. A third (32%) of
respondents say security is the biggest barrier
preventing their organisation from successfully
implementing a Hybrid IT environment.
Ultimately the security issue comes down to
risk vs. reward, and there are a number of steps
ITDMs can take to reduce those risks.
The key to Hybrid security, then, is balance. On
the one hand, you want to put up enough layers
of defence to ensure your data isn’t
compromised.
Changing to a Hybrid approach is like going
from a single solution to 20 solutions from
20 different vendors, and the way you view
and measure those solutions differs from
one to the next. The level of complexity is
huge, which naturally causes security
concerns. However, orchestration solutions
can help manage that complexity by linking
everything together and providing a single
view of everything that’s happening.”
Andrew Brabban, Head of Hybrid IT, Fujitsu
But on the other hand, you don’t want to make
things so restrictive that you hinder positive
outcomes such as increased agility or ease of
collaboration.
As we mentioned in a Hybrid Hive blog post on
the subject published last year, security in the
Hybrid environment should be seen as a
business enabler – not a blocker.
The irony is that people say security is the
number one concern with Hybrid IT, but
when you look at their budgets it isn’t the
number one thing they’ve spend their
money on. Part of the security issue stems
from the way IT organisations are
stovepiped into multiple camps. You’ve got
the security team, the network team, the
infrastructure team, and rather than
working together they’re all competing for
resources.”
Mark Chellis, Global Alliance Marketing Director,
Vmware

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This may seem like something of a catch-22
situation – you need your network to be fully
secure, but equally you don’t want to restrict
information. But it all comes down to balance
– the needs of the wider business vs. the level
of security a particular data set requires.
Also bear in mind that there is no such thing as
a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to
effective Hybrid IT security. Everything should
be tailored to the specific needs of the business
within which it operates.
ACTION POINT: Stop viewing security from a
single-perimeter perspective. Instead, consider
how software can help isolate and distribute
risk across your network.
Read Seven hybrid it data security risks (and
how to overcome them) for more tips.
People think of security as north/south
traffic – building a single wall to prevent
people breaking in. The problem with that
setup is if somebody does breach that wall
they have anything they want at their
fingertips. A better approach is a software-
defined network (SDN), through which you
can create individual software firewalls to
isolate sections of your network and
therefore limit any potential damage.”
Mark Chellis, Global Alliance Marketing Director,
Vmware

11. HYBRID HIVE | HYBRID HABITS 11
M I N D T H E K N O W L E D G E G A P
What we’ve seen in this report is largely
positive. ITDMs are coming around to the
benefits a Hybrid environment can bring, and
are increasingly seeing it as essential to the
future infrastructure of their business.
This upturn in Hybrid IT means we’ll naturally
see ‘best practice’ evolving over time, and the
methods surrounding orchestration,
transformation and delivery will be demystified
to the point where Hybrid may become
standard across the corporate world.
But we’re not there yet.
This research also reveals another potential
barrier to cloud adoption: a significant gap in
knowledge that could be holding ITDMs back.
More than a third (37%) of those we surveyed
admit they don’t know what a ‘good’ Hybrid IT
model looks like, while only 33% say they do.
There are two worrying aspects to these
numbers:
Firstly, if there are more ITDMs who do not
understand what ‘good’ looks like compared to
those that do, there is a risk the approach won’t
be implemented in a way that best reflects
business needs. This could potentially be costly
and damaging in the long run.
Nothing brings a process to life and gives
people more confidence than someone
having done it already, whether that
knowledge is communicated through
networking or opinion pieces or learning
from other sectors.”
Mark Phillips, Head of Hybrid IT, Fujitsu EMEIA

12. HYBRID HIVE | HYBRID HABITS 12
There are several resources out there that can
help ITDMs learn what ‘good’ looks like, such
as four steps to a successful Hybrid cloud
strategy, but ultimately it comes down to
whether the motivation is there to do so. As
Hybrid adoption continues to rise, however,
this latter point will likely become less of a
potential barrier.
The second concern is that if ITDMs are
unfamiliar with the benefits of Hybrid IT but
concerned about risks such as security, they
will be hesitant to take on the approach and
therefore could miss out on the benefits of
early adoption (increased competitiveness, for
example).
Hybrid IT is in itself a journey of discovery.
You start off with a particular goal in mind,
but along the way you realise what you
actually need is fundamentally different to
what you thought at the beginning. I can’t
think of a single example where the solution
we implemented was the same as the idea
we started out with.”
Andrew Brabban, Head of Hybrid IT, Fujitsu
72%say they are ‘doing well’ at deploying a
Hybrid IT model
62%need more help to understand Hybrid IT and
its implications
37%don’t know what a ‘good’ Hybrid IT model
looks like
There is no consistency in the way ITDMs
define Hybrid. As providers we need to
educate organisations to help them define
and implement this approach.”
Darren Moseby, Global Systems Integrator
Architect, NetApp

13. HYBRID HIVE | HYBRID HABITS 13
Despite nearly three-quarters (72%) of those we
surveyed saying they are ‘doing well’ at
deploying a Hybrid IT model, almost two-thirds
(62%) say they need more help to understand
Hybrid IT and its implications.
This fear of the unknown could be a significant
barrier to Hybrid adoption, yet it is so easily
solved by education. It will be the job of Hybrid
providers and ITDMs alike to ensure they meet
in the middle to close that knowledge gap.
ACTION POINT: Further reading to boost your
Hybrid knowledge:
Getting your Hybrid strategy right
How to avoid a Hybrid implementation
headache
Five steps for business transformation
The overall message in these findings is a
positive one: many ITDMs are already
reaping the benefits of the Hybrid approach,
while the vast majority see it as the inevitable
future of corporate IT.
But there is still some way to go before we
reach that point – when we can truly say
businesses across the globe are making the
most of all the opportunities Hybrid can
provide.
A knowledge gap clearly exists, which puts us
at a kind of crossroads: will we let that gap
persist, failing to properly capitalise on the
potential value of Hybrid in the long run, or
will we work together as an industry to close
it?
And even if we do, how will we overcome the
growing security fears that could hold back
Hybrid adoption? Will ITDMs be able to pull
their focus off cost alone and make the
business case for Hybrid as a long-term
revenue-driver?
To join this debate – and to get regular
insights from Hybrid IT experts at Fujitsu,
VMware, NetApp, Intel and Brocade – make
sure you visit the Hybrid Hive and follow us on
Twitter and LinkedIn.
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