A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing model that integrates private cloud infrastructure with public cloud services, allowing organizations to leverage the advantages of both. It provides flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency by enabling seamless data and workload management across both environments.

In a hybrid cloud setup, sensitive data or critical workloads can be kept in the private cloud for enhanced security and compliance, while less-sensitive operations or dynamic workloads can utilize the scalable resources of the public cloud. This balance ensures that businesses can optimize costs without compromising on security or performance.

One of the defining features of a hybrid cloud is its interoperability, which enables seamless integration between on-premises systems and cloud environments. This is often achieved through APIs or middleware. Hybrid clouds are particularly beneficial for industries with stringent regulatory requirements, such as healthcare and finance, as they allow sensitive data to remain within a private environment while still taking advantage of public cloud innovations.

Moreover, hybrid cloud models support advanced use cases like disaster recovery, DevOps workflows, and AI/ML workloads. For example, an organization can run its day-to-day operations on a private cloud while utilizing public cloud resources for burst computing during peak times.

As organizations increasingly prioritize flexibility and scalability, the hybrid cloud model has become a key strategy for digital transformation, allowing them to respond quickly to changing business needs while maintaining control over their data.