Cloud offerings have become more diverse. Companies are starting to rely on many cloud services rather than a single provider. The multi-cloud approach is complex.
At the same time, it allows an organization to choose among different solutions. Also, it ensures you have optimal application performance.
Let’s know what multi-cloud computing and how companies are using multi-cloud offerings. That adds flexibility to their business planning and improves IT efficiency.
What is a multi-cloud?
It is a cloud computing strategy in which a company relies on many cloud providers. However, they do not depend on a single vendor. Instead, the organization can choose the best service from each IT consulting service provider based on the factors:
- Technical needs.
- Geographic availability.
- Service expenditure.
The driving force behind the concept is that no single provider can provide you a solution to all problems a business can face. Instead, the different service providers specialize in certain areas and tasks. Companies can use many forms of clouds. They can build a custom infrastructure that fits all business accomplishments.
Examples of the company using multi-cloud setup:
- A company uses the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for development and testing. And it relies on Azure for business analytics.
- Organizations are using different providers for IaaS, PaaS, and Saas services.
- A company will use Azure in the US and Alibaba in Asia to ensure the app does not suffer from latency.
- It consumes emails as a service from one vendor. CRM service from another vendor. And IaaS from a third service provider.
Distributing workloads between different cloud providers for the following competitive advantages:
- Better application performance
- Lack of vendor lock-in
- Reduced barriers to innovation
- Less risk of downtime
- No data loss.
- Choosing the correct technology for any given task.
- Mitigation of any disaster
Usually, this strategy includes a combination of major public cloud providers. Yet, a multi-cloud setup can have private clouds and a traditional on-premise data center in the architecture.
Multi-cloud vs. hybrid cloud
Multi-cloud is the combination of two or more cloud deployments. It is of the same type from different service providers. A cloud is a mixture of public and private clouds and allows for orchestration between two infrastructures.
The part of a hybrid cloud solution functions together, so it interacts massively with data and processes. This solution manages a single IT service solution between both infrastructures.
Different clouds handle different applications and tasks in a multi-cloud setup. So there is not as much overlap in a hybrid design. Each cloud manages different workflows. Depending on the architecture, a multi-cloud uses hybridization. It allows individual systems to communicate.
Multi-cloud architecture
When you are developing a multi-cloud strategy, architecture is the main consideration. It allows you to make changes and upgrades to adopt new technologies.
The Architectural decision you make today will have consequences far into the future. Careful planning and vision require you to avoid complexity in architecture. It might work against you by constraining your ability to scale.
When you design your multi-cloud architecture, consider these factors.
- Where does your data reside?
- Who will have access to it?
- From where?
If certain applications spread across different clouds, take into account the API format. Encode for each cloud. And know how you can create a seamless experience for IT administrators and users alike.
You should note the geographic spread of your applications, database, and web services. It will make it easy to manage and access your data regardless of any location. You can also consider how far your data travels and create a flow with the latest possible latency.
Pros and Cons of multi-cloud computing
Here is the list of the pros and cons of multi-cloud. It helps you decide whether the strategy is a good option for your business.
Pros of multi-cloud
- No vendor lock-in.
- Custom solution that meets all business needs
- No single points of failure
- Great app availability and uptime
- Strong data management that helps to follow data storage regulations
Cons of multi-cloud
- Hiring more than two providers is costly.
- Many providers increase operational complexity.
- Massive attack surfaces with integrations can create data security gaps.
- Complex architecture leads to a problem with bandwidth usage and latency.
- Poor setups and integration cause performance issues
Multi-cloud is a deployment model unlike any other option in the market.
Multi-cloud is a complex model that has some drawbacks. It is gaining momentum. A business will pursue the benefits of five to nine availability and the lack of vendor lock-ins. Besides, a multi-cloud deployment model allows a company to build a custom cloud environment. But no other cloud computing type can offer the same level of customization.
It should meet every technical need of an IT consulting service. In addition, Multi-cloud will improve the availability and cut the vendor lock-in. Of course, the success of using it is not a guarantee. But companies need multi-cloud strategies that ensure they do not run into financial and operational issues.
