One of the biggest difficulties with moving into the Cloud is that a lot of software is not ready for prime time. There's no doubt in anyone's mind that the features available in desktop models are much more robust than anything that's currently available in SaaS offerings. In the meantime, between now and complete adoption it means that many companies will take a jump to the Cloud by heading for the hybrid Cloud. Intuit is currently offering a cool example of this with their Intuit Workplace App Center. By combining apps that live in the Cloud with the existing desktop software it's a first step in moving users off the desktop and up into the Cloud. We already know that it's where Intuit is headed overall. With the acquistion of Mint it became very clear that the future lies in lightweight easily accessible browser based software. When will businesses transition?
Laurie McCabe correctly suggests that the move to SaaS in the hybrid Cloud will occur when users are looking to purchase new applications. We can't expect users to just jump out onto the Cloud without a compelling reason. As wiki puts it the hybrid Cloud is "multiple internal and or external service providers [...]and may ease the transition to public cloud services." [Definition of Cloud Computing] What are the advantages?
The advantages of a hybrid cloud include the ability to continue using current software while augmenting with cloud based apps. For those beginning to make the jump or it's a great first option. Quite a few companies are already using cloud document management with success.