Microsoft pushes hybrid cloud model for public and private sectors

Businesses and governments looking to derive benefits from cloud computing while avoiding concerns over security should use a mix of private and public cloud technologies, according to Microsoft's national technology officer.

Mark Ferrar revealed at at a Westminster Forum event in London on Tuesday that the hybrid cloud model is becoming increasingly popular among customers.

"We are starting to see dedicated private clouds and hosted environments where you can put services on infrastructure already up and running coming together, and we see this hybrid cloud mix as the opportunity for this year and next," he said.

"That's the transformation we are seeing at the moment, and that's why it's the right time for cloud services in government and for businesses."

Ferrar argued that organisations also need to consider the use of the cloud as it is "symbiotically linked" to the rise in mobile devices being used by staff.

"People want to be more mobile. They want to be able to access content and applications anywhere and collaborate remotely, so businesses have to offer the ability for workers to manage and consume services on devices," he said.

"The opportunities in the cloud are manifold, and they exist around this mobility and consumerisation of IT and the ability to save money, increase agility, reach more people and deliver services better."

However, Microsoft suffered outages on several of its cloud hosted services last week, a day after issues affected Google, underlining the concerns many firms have with cloud services.

Many business leaders are also worried that cloud computing and the rise in mobile devices could lead to an increase in cyber crime, according to research by consulting firm KPMG published last week.