In the enterprise landscape, the term “hybrid” aptly describes application portfolios that encompass both modern (mobile, microservices) and traditional (client-server, monoliths, three-tier web) application types.
Similar to terms like “cloud” and “edge”, “hybrid” signifies a composition of two different components, with “heterogeneous” serving as a near-synonym. This concept extends beyond application portfolios to include enterprise architectures, operations, and deployment environments.
As a result, recognising hybrid structures is critical because they inherently introduce complexity and reflect the modern enterprise landscape. Unlike single-type systems, hybrid environments demand diverse teams, tools, practices, and processes.
Organisations are fundamentally hybrid across applications, architectures, operations, and deployment environments – a state likely to persist. The core challenge lies in managing this complexity while accepting hybrid structures as the new operational norm. From application portfolios to architectures, from operational models to environments, every enterprise is grappling with the challenges of at least one kind of heterogeneity – and often, more.
Hybrid infrastructure permeates every aspect of enterprise operations, from strategic planning to implementation. It propels interest in technologies designed to mitigate the complexity inherent in managing heterogeneous infrastructure, applications, and operations. According to F5’s 2024 State of Application Strategy survey, organisations running application components across multiple clouds demonstrated heightened enthusiasm for emerging technologies like GraphQL, microservices networking, and large language models. Moreover, these respondents showed increased attraction to multi-cloud networking, IT centralisation, and supercloud – trends specifically crafted to address the challenges of connecting, securing, and managing modern distributed enterprise environments.
The complexity of tools and APIs remains a nearly ubiquitous challenge, with 94% of survey respondents citing it as their most frustrating multi-cloud issue. Heterogeneity-driven complexity extends beyond this, with 52% of respondents identifying tooling complexity as a significant barrier to automating application delivery and security. The survey tracked 30 distinct application services – from network security to CDNs, VDI, and SSL VPNs – each with an average deployment rate of 93%.
However, these services frequently fail to interoperate seamlessly, often operating in isolated domains with divergent operational and management approaches. This reflects the true nature of hybrid infrastructure: an underlying complexity that has long existed but has been increasingly exposed by digital transformation.
There is no genuine escape from hybrid infrastructure, short of an unprecedented and highly improbable scenario where a single public cloud provider comprehensively meets every operational, delivery, and security requirement for enterprise applications. The data unequivocally demonstrates the impracticality of such an approach: a mere 2% of organisations are “all in” on one public cloud, and even among this tiny fraction, only 34% have fully committed their investments to a single cloud provider.
These statistics reveal a profound truth about modern enterprise technology: true single-cloud exclusivity is not just uncommon – it’s essentially non-existent. The notion of a monolithic, single-
provider solution is fundamentally at odds with the complex, dynamic nature of contemporary business technology needs. Enterprises require flexibility, specialised services, cost optimisation, and risk mitigation, which can only be achieved through a diversified, multi-cloud strategy.
The modern enterprise landscape is inherently distributed, multi-cloud, and hybrid. This architectural reality demands a corresponding evolution in technological solutions. Traditional, monolithic service approaches are becoming obsolete. Instead, enterprises need dynamic, adaptable services that can effectively operate across diverse cloud environments, delivering, securing, and optimising applications and APIs regardless of their geographical or infrastructural location.
This shift represents more than a technological trend – it’s a fundamental reimagining of how enterprise technology infrastructure can and should function. Service providers and technology solutions must now be designed with inherent flexibility, capable of seamlessly integrating across multiple cloud platforms, on-premises infrastructure, and emerging edge computing environments.
The hybrid imperative is clear: technological solutions must become as distributed and adaptable as the enterprises they
serve, breaking down traditional boundaries and creating truly flexible, resilient infrastructure ecosystems.
About the Author
Lori MacVittie is Distinguished Engineer at F5. F5 is a multi-cloud application services and security company committed to bringing a better digital world to life. F5 partners with the world’s largest, most advanced organizations to optimize and secure every app and API anywhere, including on-premises, in the cloud, or at the edge. F5 enables organizations to provide exceptional, secure digital experiences for their customers and continuously stay ahead of threats.