Enterprises are increasingly looking for ways to take advantage of the flexibility and variety of cloud offerings in order to use the best cloud development services and cut software development costs. Indeed, according to a recent futuristic report from the International Data Corporation, multi-cloud adoption will skyrocket, with more than 85 percent of IT companies investing in multi-cloud architecture by the end of 2021.
The adoption of the cloud, both public and private, has accelerated as enterprises are rushing forward into digital transformation. Working across multiple clouds and platforms presents a lot of new challenges. The most fundamental issue that CTOs face is a lack of understanding of cloud technology.
The Rise Of Multi-cloud Architecture
A multi-cloud architecture takes advantage of services from multiple cloud providers to achieve business benefits such as increased innovation, access to specialized hardware not available on-premises, and the ability to scale compute and data storage as the company grows. A multi-cloud strategy can include both public and private clouds (hybrid cloud) or multiple public cloud providers.
You can choose workloads that are best suited for each cloud when you have multiple clouds. Different mission-critical workloads have different compliance, performance, data location, and scalability requirements, such as a retail transaction system, a healthcare information system, or a CAD/CAM solution. Certain vendors' cloud services may be better suited to each set of requirements.
A multi-cloud architecture provides resiliency. Using a distributed deployment for applications allows you to take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing environments. Using various clouds and services and tailoring applications to their inherent strengths leads to more efficient and better results.
Why Do Businesses Need To Opt For Multi-Cloud?
Adopting a multi-cloud strategy from the beginning is a good idea for startups. You can use multiple environments at once to develop faster and leverage the best of breed tools from each cloud if you're building a proof of concept or in the design phase of your infrastructure.
Disaster recovery can be aided by using a multi-cloud environment. Run mission-critical workloads on a single provider, and that provider goes down. Your workloads will go down with it, whereas spreading workloads across multiple providers makes applications more resilient.
By distributing applications across multiple providers, you can improve network security by lowering the chances of an attack affecting the entire infrastructure at the same time. However, A multi-cloud decision requires careful consideration, followed by meticulous planning and flawless execution to meet your objectives.
Top Design Considerations For Creating Effective Multi-Cloud Strategy
Once your business decides to integrate a multi-cloud strategy across various business applications, it is essential to consider a few things to be aware of potential pitfalls and be careful.
The following are a few top design considerations to take into account before embarking on a cloud journey:
- Security Integration
Integrating with enterprise security systems and policies is never straightforward. Two types of security integration are authorizing cloud access and securing the environments where applications and services are deployed.
Integration of IAM with a single sign-on (SSO) solution such as Okta is a common cloud consumer access design pattern. To secure the CSP environment, scanning tools, log aggregation, and threat protection agents are used, and these factors must be considered early in the design process.
- Network Connectivity
When using multiple clouds for application and service distribution, connectivity between clouds has traditionally been required, regardless of the reason for using multiple clouds. Many internal applications and services require routable connectivity between components and CSPs, while some services and data stores can be securely accessed over the internet.
When planning for multi-cloud network connectivity, think about what applications and services will require a routable connection between components. Because of the complexity of a global network design, an IPAM solution will almost certainly be required.
- Skillsets
Skillsets are required to ensure that cloud consumers can successfully operate across all CSPs involved in a multi-cloud strategy. As a result, specific skill sets must be addressed. Almost all Cloud Service Providers provide formal training, either online or on-site, that can be used to upgrade employees and staff quickly.
- Application Spanning
Identify the applications and services that must be deployed across multiple clouds, guided by a business requirement and technical design, and work to automate provisioning and management through scripts and templates. These applications can include Terraform, configuration management, etc.
- Tools Spanning
Tooling for monitoring and management, like any other command and control solution, must support all CSPs. Consider using tools that can be easily expanded to meet your tooling needs. Monitoring, log aggregation, security visibility, security protection, and network management are examples of tools that must span CSPs.
Make sure you precisely understand what you require from each CSP. For each CSP, write down the requirements and assign a score. Consider which Cloud Service Providers can meet which requirements and choose the one that suits your requirement.
Conclusion
Multi-cloud environments are here to stay, and hence the demand for them is continuously increasing. The multi-cloud architecture will continue to evolve and grow as businesses strive to be more agile, responsive, and competitive.
Investing the time to fully develop your digital transformation roadmap to take advantage of a multi-cloud strategy will help you optimize your infrastructure, meet your changing business needs, and be successful with your global network strategy.
