You must have heard the saying, “Two heads are better than one.” Numerous businesses have realized that this idea applies to the world of cloud computing as well and believe that having two (or more) clouds (multi-cloud) is more advantageous than relying on just one.
Today, around 90% of enterprises have adopted a multi-cloud approach, as revealed by the Flexera 2022 State of the Cloud Report. Why?
Enterprises benefit from the multi-cloud strategy in a variety of ways, including flexibility, ongoing access to top-tier upgrades, and vendor choice. However, misusing multi-cloud configurations might introduce hurdles and constraints that compromise data security and confidentiality.
In this post, we will deconstruct the dual features of the multi-cloud paradigm, thoroughly assessing its benefits and drawbacks. However, before we get too far into our investigation, let’s define what multi-cloud means.
What is multicloud?
Multicloud refers to a service where organizations or individuals buy computing resources from two or more cloud companies to run their software applications. It’s like diversifying your resources instead of putting all of them in a single place.
For example, you might use Amazon Web Services (AWS) private cloud to store your more crucial data and Google’s public cloud for another set of data or applications. In a multicloud, you use different cloud services, such as public and private clouds, and select the most suitable features from each of them.
As stated above, more and more organizations are now using multicloud strategies to run their applications wherever they want while remaining safe during uncertainties.
In the multicloud approach, service providers use configurations that are built with open-source tools such as Kubernetes. They’re essentially toolkits that allow you to migrate, create, and improve your applications across several clouds. Additionally, these configurations align well with modern program development methods such as DevOps and cloud-friendly technologies such as containers and microservices.
Multicloud vs. hybrid cloud
Here is a simple comparison between multicloud and hybrid cloud.
Think of a hybrid cloud similar to having an office setup that combines both a private workspace and a shared office space. You use your private workspace for tasks that demand focus and privacy, while the shared office space is for collaboration opportunities and access to specialized equipment.
On the other hand, multicloud is like having multiple bank accounts. Each account serves a specific purpose. You might have one account for everyday expenses, another for saving up, and yet another for a special project. Each account operates independently but serves your different financial needs.
In the world of computing, multicloud refers to the use of several cloud services from various providers for specific tasks. Just like your different bank accounts, each cloud service caters to different needs. In contrast, a hybrid cloud combines elements of both a private computing environment (like your private workspace) and a public computing environment (like the shared office space) to optimize your resources and workflows.
Simply put, multicloud distributes tasks across various specialized services and hybrid cloud combines the advantages of private and public environments to build a diverse and effective computing arrangement.
Multicloud benefits for businesses
Using multicloud services can provide several benefits for increasing your organization’s IT agility and flexibility. Now, let’s look at some of the important multicloud benefits:
No complexity of vendor lock-in
One of the key benefits of employing multicloud is that it keeps businesses from being overly reliant on a single vendor or service provider. This is especially crucial when corporations look for specialist suppliers that excel in specific areas. Instead of depending on a single provider for all software needs, a multicloud strategy allows firms to employ a variety of services suited to their specific needs. This guarantees that they can implement the most recent and appropriate solutions, allowing employees to complete their tasks efficiently while remaining current with technological developments.
Meets compliance requirements
Stricter data privacy requirements, such as the CCPA and GDPR, necessitate companies to keep their customer data safe in certain locations only. Multicloud allows enterprises to meet these criteria without having to build and run their data centers.
Boosts performance
Using a multicloud strategy enables enterprises to create a high-speed infrastructure that improves application performance and lowers integration costs. Organizations may improve response times and user experiences by extending their networks to different cloud providers. This choice of providers based on geography and performance capabilities enhances overall application performance.
Builds resilience
Cloud outages are on the rise and have an estimated cost of $365,000 per hour for businesses. It can occur with any provider, hence, depending on a single source is dangerous. A multicloud architecture increases security, improves failover choices, and improves disaster recovery capabilities. This assures that data storage resources are always available, making cloud deployment more robust in the long run. Furthermore, it reduces performance-impacting issues like latency and packet loss.
Highly scalable
As data volumes continue to expand, multicloud architecture becomes a suitable alternative for data storage and processing. It enables enterprises to alter their storage requirements easily, providing for smooth scaling up and down.
Multicloud challenges
While there are numerous advantages that a multicloud strategy can offer to businesses, it’s important to acknowledge the challenges it poses, particularly in terms of identity management. Here are the possible issues:
More clouds, more complexity
Choosing to move away from a single cloud provider increases complexity. Maintaining safe and consistent access to apps and environments inside a single cloud platform is difficult enough. Extending this effort across two or three suppliers complicates matters.
A multicloud approach needs multi-specialized teams
The complexity of multicloud installations necessitates a skilled team to design, implement, and manage them efficiently. Furthermore, utilizing numerous cloud suppliers involves the formation of unique teams with specific skills targeted to each provider. Given the continuing lack of IT skills, hiring and keeping skilled personnel knowledgeable about cloud security proves to be a difficult task.
Complexity in cost management
While cost savings frequently inspire enterprises to use cloud services, a lack of thorough planning and management may turn a multicloud strategy into a costly undertaking. Adaptable pricing methods can result in cost unpredictability, especially when determining which customers will use which systems and resources remain unknown.
Increased security concerns
The task of protecting data and maintaining access control regulations across a multicloud architecture is noticeably more complex, broadening the scope of potential security risks. Organizations subject themselves to increased risks regarding data protection and security breaches in the absence of a solid, unified plan for identity management, governance, and security.
Having the right multicloud strategy
Effective multicloud management becomes more important as firms develop and incorporate new applications and services into their IT infrastructures. Despite the continuous cloud revolution and rising data volumes, organizations frequently rely on traditional techniques such as passwords, exposing their different surroundings, remote workforce, and many apps to threats.
To tackle these problems, companies need a modern system that treats the user as the main security focus and simplifies the cloud management process. This system should make sure that getting into services and apps is safe and easy, and it should also help people quickly get used to new ways of doing things.
ZNetLive offers Network-as-a-service (NaaS) solutions like Polarin that empowers enterprises to effortlessly adjust their network resources based on their needs, simultaneously simplifying operations, enhancing dependability, improving security, and making significant savings in terms of both time and expenses.
Polarin can help you get:
- Unrivaled security: The Polarin NaaS platform combines cutting-edge firewalls, DDoS protection, malware scanning, and SSL certificates, guaranteeing the utmost security for your digital footprint.
- User-friendly control panel: Polarin’s user-friendly control panel streamlines website management, domain administration, and email setup.
- Data protection: Enhanced security via multi-factor authentication (MFA), safeguarding sensitive information.
- Integration with major public clouds: It enables businesses of every scale to seamlessly establish connections with prominent public clouds like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud.
ZNetLive holds the solution to make your cloud safe, flexible, and cost-effective from the very beginning. Contact us to understand how we can help you improve performance and authentication in your multi-cloud environment.
