Corporate information can be in any form ranging from financial data to customer records and supply chain insights to third-party details. Here, revolutionary cloud technology comes into the picture and makes it possible for people to make the most of information. The cloud has many strategies, and today, we will dig deep into the multi-cloud strategy.
A multi-cloud strategy is a key component of any company’s digital transformation initiative. It is useful for the modernization of business processes and for making companies ready for the future by leveraging the benefits of seamless data access.
As a cloud computing strategy that involves the utilization of the best services from more than one cloud provider, multi-cloud is driven based on business, workload, and data governance requirements. A typical multi-cloud strategy involves PaaS, SaaS, and other cloud-based models in a coupled architecture.
Let’s dig deep into a multi-cloud strategy.
What is a Multi-Cloud Strategy?
Keeping only one cloud vendor for handling your corporate data is like giving all keys to one person. It not only enhances dependency and expectations but also increases the risk of data breaches exponentially. It is, therefore, advisable to choose the best of the best services from multiple cloud providers carefully. It is known as multicloud strategy.
A multicloud strategy enables companies to make the most of cloud computing services while giving the most suitable solution for their unique requirements. As per the Flexera report, as many as 93% of organizations are using a multicloud environment. It is fair to mention that multicloud holds a key to success for most businesses irrespective of their sizes.
Comparison with Popular Cloud Strategies
Cloud computing services are based on different approaches. Though many clouds look very similar with the same functionality, enterprises can utilize them in different ways to meet their specific needs. Therefore, it is essential to understand different types of cloud environments before considering them for your company.
Public Cloud
It is the most popular and common way of leveraging cloud services. All big players including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon offer public cloud services. These clouds are available for public use. After signing up, some form of the subscription fee is taken to use this service. Public clouds have advanced features for security, but several times, these features may not protect the data from cyberattacks.
Private Cloud
Whether you have your cloud services on your premises or a cloud computing service provider has developed a specific solution for your company, it is known as a private cloud. It is more secure than the public cloud because it is hosted on private servers that give more control over the stored data and its security. Also, companies can easily meet niche IT requirements or other necessities with the help of a private cloud.
Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid cloud is a combination of private and public cloud resources. It facilitates corporate users to access both in-house (private) and public cloud environments together. As a result, users can leverage the benefits of both approaches. On one hand, the public cloud is useful to store high-volume tech requirements, and on the other hand, confidential data including client files are kept in the private cloud. A hybrid cloud is a cost-effective way to get the benefits of a private cloud.
Benefits of Multi-Cloud Strategy
An optimum mix of different cloud computing solutions can offer many benefits to modern enterprises. Here are the top benefits of a multi-cloud strategy.
No Vendor Lock-in
It is an unwanted situation where the company’s applications and functionalities remain dependent on the single cloud provider’s features and technical capabilities. Organizations have to face these issues at one point if they have chosen a single vendor for cloud computing solutions.
Once a company is stuck in the vendor lock-in, it is costly and time-consuming to transfer the entire data and all applications to other cloud providers. A multi-cloud approach can enable companies to get rid of this issue and ensure unrestricted movement of applications.
Enhanced Performance
Slower application response times and performance glitches are evident with increasing demand and usage over a huge demographic area. It can increase latency and result in poor user experience over the period.
A multi-cloud system enables organizations to choose the right combination of cloud services and expert service providers with experiences operating in different geographic areas. It helps you get rid of latency and enhance the app's performance.
Higher Scalability
It is one of the most significant benefits of multi-cloud services. Every company has different business requirements and there is no one-for-all solution for these needs available to any cloud service provider. However, it is possible to optimize cloud-based workloads and increase the scalability of your business with multi-cloud solutions. The multi-cloud approach facilitates users to host their applications on the most suitable cloud platform and gain the best of many worlds.
Increased Uptime
Server outage causes downtime and brings losses for modern enterprises. When all applications and resources of your business depend on a single cloud provider, such downtime or technical failures can become catastrophic. Even if most cloud service providers promise up to 99.5% runtime, no cloud service can eliminate the possibility of a server outage.
Here, a multi-cloud approach remains handy for entrepreneurs. You can easily transfer the workload to an alternate server if one of your cloud services fails. It ensures continuous access and operations for all users. As a result, you can get the benefit of increased uptime.
Better Compliance
When you select multiple cloud service providers across different zones, you can easily and effortlessly meet compliance-related needs. All cloud service providers follow the norms of their respective areas of operation, and therefore, you can also meet these rules effectively when taking services from these providers.
However, an enterprise needs to address some noteworthy challenges to gain these benefits. Here are these challenges.
Multi-Cloud Strategy- Challenges You Need to Address
Let’s face it. Though a multi-cloud approach offers various benefits including reduced cost, higher efficiency, etc, it is necessary to overcome some challenges to avail of these benefits.
Here are some of the most common challenges that organizations face even with the multi-cloud concept.
Financial
Switching from a single cloud to a multi-cloud system is a costly affair. Most businesses end up having huge bills by egressing their data from one provider to another. Also, entrepreneurs or business owners have to pay the increased cost if they opt for optimizing data storage with multiple clouds. In other words, it is necessary to keep control over cost management-related challenges while opting for a multi-cloud concept.
Your organization needs to ensure that the cloud mix is cost-efficient and capable of increasing efficiency. This purpose will not be served if the combined costs of multiple cloud services increase IT expenses significantly.
Technical
It is fair to mention that every company has different business requirements and expectations from cloud platforms. You need to consider your business needs with the features and package of different cloud service providers before choosing the most suitable cloud mix.
What’s more, establishing a multi-cloud infrastructure is also a complex process that requires advanced expertise and experience. Most companies lack these skills, and therefore, they have to outsource the project. While outsourcing the project, it is imperative to keep all the relevant aspects in mind to leverage its benefits.
Data Safety
Data security is also a noteworthy challenge faced by entrepreneurs and cloud service providers. When your company’s data and sensitive information are shared using multiple servers and several cloud providers handle it, you need to make sure that your data remains safe. Also, various cloud providers may follow different security and data privacy protocols and therefore, you need to remain alert and updated about their security standards.
Best Practices for Successful Adoption of Multi-Cloud Strategy
Success strategy for the multi-cloud approach includes many factors. Here we take just four of them to understand how we can make the most of this robust and useful approach.
Defining clear objectives and strategies
It starts with making a clear roadmap containing your objectives and strategies related to multi-cloud adoption. Whether you have taken cloud services, you need to make a plan again by defining goals based on a multi-cloud approach.
Choosing the right cloud providers
Another important factor is selecting the right cloud service partners. When you opt for a multi-cloud concept, it is necessary to check every cloud service provider’s track record, expertise, and even financial stability so that you can assign the necessary applications as per your business needs.
Implementing efficient management and governance processes
When you integrate cloud-based solutions in your enterprise, you need to make sure that your management and governance are capable to handle this transformation and keep all the processes in control. Also, the multi-cloud technology requires support from your work culture.
Tracking your expenses in the cloud
One of the biggest business benefits of embracing the cloud is it can help companies reduce various costs by ensuring the efficient use of computing resources. As entrepreneurs need to pay for services they have used, they can get rid of buying and maintaining different servers.
However, when it comes to a multi-cloud environment, chances are high that costs can get out of control once you lose track. Therefore, you should consider the cost of maintaining multi-cloud environments carefully along with the service provider’s competencies and expertise in the domain. In simple words, you need to track your expenses at every stage in the multi-cloud concept.
Conclusion
Cloud computing services are evolved in line with advancing technology. Today, we have multi-cloud solutions to ensure higher uptime, more scalability, improved performance, and increased efficiency. In a nutshell, we can mention that multi-cloud will shape the future of modern businesses by enhancing communication and collaboration cost-effectively. Hope our concise guide on multi-cloud strategy will help you implement this concept successfully.
Silver Touch Technologies is a leading cloud-managed service company in India, we assist our clients to get the benefits of cloud computing solutions. We provide a range of cloud computing services including infrastructure management, application management, and service management. Do you want to know more about the benefits of cloud computing for your enterprise? Contact us and our expert consultants will assist you to get success in cloud adoption.
