Multi-cloud allows organisations’ clouds to be private, public, or a combination of both, which can be as simple as using software-as-a-service solutions from different vendors. It is better suited to describe having a portable cloud computing solution, through the use of different cloud service providers.
The benefits of having a multi-cloud solution, like being able to combine services from multiple vendors, increase an organisation’s ability to adopt ‘best-of-breed’ solutions. This means that businesses can remain flexible and are not beholden to the tools provided by a single vendor at a given time. This could provide cost-savings, as ‘best-of-breed’ solutions can drive cost optimisation by giving businesses the ability to pick and choose the features developed by cloud providers.
Multi-cloud would allow users to sign up to cloud services which are not offered by their sole cloud provider.
An additional benefit of multi-cloud is that it reduces the exposure to issues resulting from ‘shadow IT’, wherein users circumvent the central IT organisation by using non-compliant tools. Multi-cloud would allow users to sign up to cloud services which are not offered by their sole cloud provider, increasing the flexibility to select the most suitable cloud components for the business case, thus reducing IT risk.
With an ever-increasing volume of data being produced daily, it is important to consider how data can be effectively managed within a multi-cloud environment. Implementing a data-orientated multi-cloud would ensure that there is a federated data store among the clouds used, acting as a single source of truth.
To address data privacy concerns within a multi-cloud and adhere to compliance rules, customer data can be stored in a private data centre, while your website and app are stored on public clouds to increase vendor flexibility and maintain latency. Some solutions already provide features to locate data where it’s most relevant, in line with regulations or internal duties.
The true success in executing a multi-cloud solution derives from a strong implementation strategy. Organisations should consider implementing systems which are cloud-agnostic, to allow for increased flexibility in managing their data. One way to achieve this is the use of third-party visualisation tools that support multiple cloud providers. By adopting such approaches with a multi-cloud solution, businesses will not be locked into a single vendor, which means they can leverage a range of data tools provided by each vendor.
Organisations should consider implementing systems which are cloud-agnostic, to allow for increased flexibility in managing their data.
Multi-cloud management platforms can be used to monitor all clouds in use through a single interface. These platforms can also provide analytics and Artificial Intelligence for Operations (AIOps) capabilities, which can be used to provide organisations with meaningful metrics from their own data. AIOps can be used to streamline and even automate corrective actions across their multi-cloud infrastructure.
Further, new design patterns, such as data mesh or data fabric, effectively enable the use of distributed data by abstracting multi-cloud access. Through using these design patterns, data could be accessed by or shared with both internal and external applications for a wide variety of analytical and operational use cases, increasing the versatility of an organisation’s master data and ensuring data semantic alignment across the company.
Similarly, if the use of a data design pattern is not an option, companies can consider developing and implementing a data visualisation strategy. This removes the need to replicate data by completely abstracting the access and management of data through a multi-cloud solution, which could accelerate the multi-cloud adoption process.
With organisations already rapidly adopting cloud platforms, multi-cloud provides versatility to mitigate existing challenges and increase organisational flexibility. By considering design patterns, selecting cloud-agnostic tools, and implementing multi-cloud management platforms, an organisation can effectively define and implement a strategy for a successful multi-cloud solution.