What is Multi-Cloud?
Multi-cloud involves using more than one computer and storage system to create one varied IT structure. Multi-cloud encompasses the circulation of software, applications, and cloud assets across multiple hosting spaces. These spaces typically employ two or more public clouds and often use more than one private cloud as well.
The main purpose of a multi-cloud approach is to eradicate dependence on any one cloud provider. This approach is exponentially growing in popularity among all sorts of enterprises.
A way to look at the use of a multi-cloud is that an organization may use different cloud services for different operations including software (Saas) services, platform (PaaS) services, and general infrastructure (IaaS). When it is used for IaaS, an organization may employ different cloud providers with different workloads, with the intent of keeping some information only in one space, while possibly creating redundancies on others to make sure there is a copy of selected data.
Organizations make their decision to employ a multi-cloud approach for many reasons including, but not limited to geographic convenience, technological specifications, and cost-effectiveness. It also drops the reliance on just one vendor. Using multiple cloud services also enables redundancies that can decrease the risk of interruption due to outages or other problems.
The capability to distribute workloads selectively between various computing infrastructures with a multi-cloud approach provides competitive advantages for these organizations, including cost savings, reduced barriers to innovation, stronger disaster mitigation and business continuity planning, and increased efficiency.
Enterprises are urged to do some preliminary research before migrating to a multi-cloud. They should make sure that their IT resources are in synch with the demands of the business and know the strengths and weaknesses of their current IT infrastructure. It is also essential to investigate any regulatory compliance issues in advance of making any changes. An enterprise can examine the varied costs between using on-premises and public clouds. It should also get acquainted with hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure that might be unfamiliar to your organization.
Doing these things will help provide as much information as possible to help you select the perfect solution to your data management.
How Is Multi-Cloud Different from Hybrid, Public, and Private Services?
Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud are not the same things. Whereas a hybrid cloud uses different modes of deployment including private, public, and legacy, a multi-cloud refers to utilizing varied cloud services.
A multi-cloud can refer to using both public and private services. Public cloud services potentially contain additional risk as using free Internet for cloud connectivity services can leave an organization wanting for reliable, secure, and flexible contact with a multi-cloud environment.
A private service can store data either on-premises or hosted in a colocation facility. Some enterprises utilize both of these methods alone or in conjunction with public. The latter would be considered to be a hybrid cloud system.
What Are the Challenges of Using a Multi-Cloud System?
There can be some challenges with employing a multi-cloud system. It takes time and resources to get multiple clouds including public, private, and on-premises up and running. If an organization has limited IT resources, then it may not have the fortitude to keep everything running properly.
While migrating an IT infrastructure to the cloud is commonplace, completely changing ITOps is much more complicated and it requires a dedicated cross-functional crew to optimize, secure, and monitor multiple applications.
A multi-cloud architecture does not require synchronization between different vendors, so an enterprise can choose which information lives in what environment.
How Do You Monitor Multi-Cloud Environments?
After migrating to a multi-cloud environment, the next question is how to monitor the goings-on in more than one space? IT teams are tasked with working with a fragmented system for housing data across multiple clouds.
A few reasons why monitoring through a multi-cloud can be challenging involves potentially siloed data sources, spread out resources, and increased security threats, but competent, centralized teams can mitigate these complications by proactively scrutinizing their databases, website, and virtual network to make sure each cloud is doing what it should be doing.
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