When starting preparations for a new IT infrastructure, decision-makers may think that cloud products such as subscription-based Office 365, are the only option. However, upon further analysis, many organisations find that a combination of cloud services with perpetual, single-pay software, such as Office 2019 or Office 2021, is more cost-effective financially and can be more practical in terms of workflow, accessibility and security.

Many companies rely on specific conditions already in place that they are reluctant to let go of or simply feel they cannot abandon for technical reasons. However, after a thorough analysis, unused or unnecessary programmes, functions and services are often found. In these cases, the existing infrastructure can be upgraded and costs optimised by including perpetual icences.

To adapt to the needs of teleworking, companies can use this hybrid solution. They can delegate only selected services to Office 365 and still maintain Office 2019 or Office 2021 for most workflows and processes. As a result, the transition to remote working will be significantly less disruptive, as employees will have to adapt to just a few changes rather than a global transformation.

When using subscription products, organisations and enterprises do not manage and control the underlying cloud infrastructure. With a hybrid solution, key assets containing sensitive data can be kept on-premises (and offline, if necessary), without any connection to the cloud environment.

Relying entirely on cloud services for data storage and productivity can be counterproductive if these services become inaccessible (e.g. due to technical problems or payment defaults). This can result in significant inconvenience and loss, even with a temporary disconnection. Setting up a hybrid solution can mitigate the effects of outages of various kinds both in the cloud and on-premises, helping organisations to more easily react and adapt to these issues.