Published November 10th 2022

If you are already using Azure services, you’ll be aware of their ability to transform the way you do business. But even something as revolutionary as cloud-based power and scalability shouldn’t mean you turn your back on your on-premise IT stack. After all, it represents an investment, so why not get all your IT working for you?

Azure Stack HCI is a hybrid cloud solution that allows you to run virtualised workloads on-premises while still leveraging the benefits of the cloud. The cloud’s power and elasticity, plus your tried and tested on-premise apps and services make the perfect solution for the growing business or organisation.

This solution can also be a good fit for companies who want to extend their Azure investment, increase their IT agility, and improve their data security and compliance requirements, too – often issues that trouble businesses without a dedicated cybersecurity & data governance professional.

Azure Stack HCI is a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution that uses Windows Server and Azure Stack technology to provide a secure and scalable platform for virtualised workloads. Azure Stack HCI lets you run virtualised applications, such as Microsoft SQL Server, SharePoint, and Exchange, as well as Linux applications, on a single, integrated platform.

The beauty of HCI is that, as far as the applications are concerned, they just keep running and providing value. Under the hood, however, HCI technology silently allocates resources (on-premise or from the cloud) as and when they’re required.

You can also use the same management tools and software-defined networking (SDN) technologies as you do in your Azure environment, making it easy to manage and integrate your on-premises and cloud-based resources.

One of the key benefits of Azure Stack HCI is that it allows you to maintain control over your sensitive data and applications while still leveraging the benefits of the cloud. You can store and manage your data locally (which many businesses insist on) and use, for example, secure backup and site recovery to protect your data and applications in case of an outage or disaster like a ransomware strike.

Additionally, you can use Azure Stack HCI to support hybrid scenarios, such as running applications that need low latency and high-performance on-premises (fast access to databases springs to mind as an example) while still taking advantage of the scalability and elasticity of the cloud. In many ways, it’s the best of both worlds!

Azure Cloud is always being updated by Microsoft and therefore runs the latest and greatest hardware & software. With Azure Stack HCI, you can take advantage of the power and be able to reduce the number of physical servers you need to manage. Maintenance and management costs are resource drains that no business wants and few can afford in 2023.

Lastly, Azure Stack HCI provides you with a platform that is secure and compliant. You can use the same security and compliance features, such as encryption and auditing, as you do in Azure and meet the best security and compliance standards. You set the rules: which data needs to be on-premise and what can live in the cloud. Following data governance rules suddenly got simple!

Azure Stack HCI helps you extend your Azure and on-premise investments, increases your IT agility and improves data security and compliance. Virtualised workloads can run on-premises while leveraging the benefits of the cloud, yet they allow you to maintain control over sensitive data and mission-critical applications.

As a trusted partner in HCI solutions, The Missing Link can elevate your business to the cloud through a hybrid cloud strategy that promises a scalable and agile future.