Hybrid cloud has become the new normal for enterprises in nearly all industries. Many enterprises have also deployed a hybrid multicloud environment that’s reliant on an ecosystem of different cloud service providers.

71% of executives think it’s difficult to realize the full potential of a digital transformation without having a solid hybrid cloud strategy in place. [1]

Managing complex business operations across a hybrid multicloud environment presents leaders with unique challenges, not least of which are cyberthreats that can bring essential business functions to a halt—potentially for days, weeks or months. A robust risk management strategy that takes full advantage of an enterprise’s hybrid multicloud environment and on-premises infrastructure can neutralize those vulnerabilities and deliver business resilience while unlocking innovation.

But what does such a strategy entail? There are three keys to developing a successful hybrid cloud risk management strategy: security, compliance and resiliency.

Security: Keeping sensitive data and workloads safe

Protecting critical data amid a heightened threat landscape is top of mind for many business leaders, and for good reason. Organizations need a strong risk management strategy to be prepared when the unthinkable happens—and it will happen. Enterprises need to have response mechanisms built into their hybrid cloud environment to get the business back to business, fast.

The global average cost of a single data breach is USD 4.45 million. [2]

Adopting a hybrid cloud approach to risk mitigation can assure an enterprise’s IT and security leaders are able to keep sensitive data and workloads safe from cyberattacks that can occur anywhere, anytime. Leaders need technical assurance that private workloads, data and access keys remain in the exclusive control of authorized users at all times.

Compliance: Keeping the regulators at bay

Noncompliance is a nonstarter in regulated industries. Between 2020 and 2022, the financial services sector saw “fines in excess of 75 million US dollars in response to IT and cloud-specific failures” levied against major banks. [3] To avoid these extraordinary costs, enterprises need to build capabilities that ensure compliance with changing regulations in all the places they do business.

The cost of a data breach at organizations with high levels of noncompliance is 12.6% higher. [2]

Failure to act isn’t an option. IBM’s cloud solutions feature built-in controls and continuous compliance to address business leaders’ security and compliance concerns.

Resiliency: Keeping the business running

Keeping the business up and running must be the primary consideration of any hybrid cloud risk management strategy—building resilience into the IT environment to help ensure seamless business operations and unfettered innovation. Leaders must ensure their hybrid cloud risk strategy encompasses the tools needed to quickly respond to disruptions and fully recover all data that’s been compromised.

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IBM offers several storage and recovery products that enhance an enterprise’s ability to bounce back from disruptions to keep business running for their clients. And they do so at scale across hybrid cloud and on-premises infrastructure.

Every hour IT teams spend recovering critical data is time not spent developing new products and solutions. Done right, a robust hybrid cloud risk management strategy can provide elevated assurances around security, compliance and resilience while fostering the continuous innovation that underpins a successful business.

[1] The new era of cloud security, IBM Institute for Business Value, 23 March 2021.

[2] Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, IBM Security®, July 2023.

[3] Ray Strecker, James Pastro and Charlie Edison, “Regulators Are Focused on Cloud Risk Management,” Promontory Currents, 5 April 2023.