Sharepoint 2010

Embracing the Cloud: Strategies for Hybrid Microsoft SharePoint Deployments

Table of Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2 About AvePoint ..................................................................................................................... 2 SharePoint Server 2010Requirements ..................................................................................... 3 SharePoint Online ................................................................................................................. 3 Why Hybrid Management? ....................................................................................................... 5 Hybrid Management Options................................................................................................... 6 In-house Hybrid Management .............................................................................................. 6 Cloud Storage Complementing On-Premises SharePoint Deployments .............................. 7 Conclusion............................................................................................................................... 10

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Introduction
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As organizations worldwide continue to look for ways to stay ahead of a hyper-competitive business landscape, cloud computing is quickly coming to the fore as the de facto waycompanies quickly adjust to ever-changing requirements. Research firm IDC predicts that the market for public cloud products and services, currently at $10 billion, will grow to $56 billion by 2014. Merrill Lynch postulates that the market will reach $160 billion by 2011. Gartner Research defines cloud computing as, “A style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-enabled capabilities aredelivered as a service to customers using Internet technologies.” Gartner also adds that cloud computing applications must be service-based, scalable and elastic, shared, metered by use, and utilizing Internet technologies. The immediate draw to cloud computing is clear – total cost of ownership is vastly reduced, as there is no need for capital expenses for physical servers and other hardware. Lesshardware means less space taken up in offices, and less for already overburdened IT administrators to maintain. However, business agility is also a key driver: A recent survey conducted by InformationWeek found more than 65 percent of respondents believe that “reacting quicker to business” is an important driver for cloud computing. Exsiting hosting companies, such as Rackspace and Fpweb.net, beganhosting Microsoft Exchange and when Microsoft did not immediately offer a hosted solution for SharePoint, stepped into the void and began offering dedicated SharePoint hosting services as well. Cloud storage offerings have also been coming to market – not just from hosting companies, but also from organizations such as Amazon and EMC. Looking to stay in-step with this burgeoning trend, Microsoftreleased SharePoint Online, the cloud version of its popular SharePoint Server platform, as part of the Business Productivity Online Suite (now called Microsoft Office 365). Microsoft is now also offering its own cloud storage solutions via Azure for Windows Server and SQL Server. However, some concerns remain regarding security, reliability, ownership, and existing on-premises technologyinvestments. Organizations not willing to entirely jump entirely into cloud computing yet, but want to start taking advantage of its benefits, can do so with hybrid management. In the coming pages, we will outline the benefits to utilizing SharePoint Online, cloud storage, hybrid management, and the options organizations have for the proper management and governance of their hybrid deployments.

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