Cloud bursting is the process of running workloads in a public cloud that are typically based within an on-premises data center or private cloud. Cloud bursting occurs when a private cloud or on-premises data center reaches its computing capacity. Running workloads in the public cloud as a cloud bursting process helps organizations avoid bottlenecks and meet computing demand during increases in activity with ease.
An organization needs a hybrid cloud infrastructure that leverages both private and public cloud platforms to use cloud bursting. Cloud bursting can be done manually or automatically. This approach helps organizations that rely on private cloud or on-premises resources due to compliance or cost reasons achieve the value of the public cloud’s flexibility.
Cloud bursting is effective during seasonal increases or when a large workload needs to be run for a particular business use case. The IT team can choose which workloads are cloud bursting candidates ahead of time for a seamless transition during a demand increase. With cloud bursting, an organization is equipped to securely achieve scale — controlling its public cloud costs in the process.