Hybrid Cloud SaaS Platform for Secure Data Analytics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enterprises face challenges in securely and efficiently accessing and sharing proprietary data across different environments while maintaining security and flexibility, especially when migrating data to cloud environments, due to concerns about security and accessibility.
Innovation Solution
A distributed Software as a Service (SaaS) platform is implemented, using a public infrastructure for the control plane and an on-premises private cloud for the data plane, allowing proprietary data to remain within the enterprise's control while providing access through a plurality of 'forts' that include a complete analytics stack, ensuring security and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If proprietary data is migrated to cloud environments, then accessibility and efficiency are improved, but security concerns worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the cloud infrastructure into public and private components. The control plane resides in the public cloud for management functions, while the data plane with proprietary data remains in the private cloud. This segmentation allows organizations to access cloud benefits while maintaining security boundaries for sensitive data.
Solution Approach 2:
A hybrid cloud architecture acts as an intermediary between public cloud services and private data centers. This intermediary enables controlled data exchange and access, allowing organizations to leverage public cloud analytics tools while keeping proprietary data isolated in the private cloud environment through secure connectivity mechanisms.
2Reliability
If a complete SaaS platform is deployed locally, then data security is improved, but device complexity and overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the analytics processing functions from the local environment and relocates them to the public cloud control plane. Only the essential data plane components remain on-premises to handle data storage and basic access, significantly reducing local complexity while maintaining security through the private cloud boundary.
Solution Approach 2:
The public cloud control plane provides universal analytics capabilities that can serve multiple functions and use cases. Instead of deploying specialized local platforms for each analytics need, organizations can access a comprehensive multi-functional analytics stack through the hybrid cloud architecture, reducing overall system complexity.
3Ease of operation
If proprietary data is shared across environments, then collaboration and accessibility are improved, but security risks worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The private cloud data plane serves as a secure intermediary that enables controlled data sharing. It provides standardized interfaces and connectivity mechanisms that allow different environments to access proprietary data through defined protocols, eliminating the need for direct connections that would expose security vulnerabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements different security qualities for different data access scenarios. The private cloud environment provides high-security local access for critical operations, while the public cloud control plane provides controlled access for analytics and collaboration. This local quality differentiation allows secure sharing by matching the security level to the specific access need.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems for improved analytics are provided. A Software as a Service (SaaS) platform may be implemented as a distributed system using a public infrastructure, such as a public cloud, and an on-premises infrastructure, such as a private cloud. A control plane for the SaaS platform may reside in the public cloud, while a data plane for the SaaS platform may reside in the on-premises private cloud.