Why Businesses Adopt a Multi-cloud Strategy for Success?

Today, many business enterprises are switching to a multi-cloud strategy, driven by diverse needs and business requirements.

90% of the workforce is already on the cloud or using cloud-based services and models. The popularity of the multi-cloud approach is gaining momentum. In a survey by Gartner, 81% said, they use two or more cloud vendors for more scalability, security, and flexibility while maintaining their budget.

If you want to switch to a multi-cloud strategy in 2024, read this blog to understand how a multi-cloud approach can benefit modern-age enterprises like yours—spearheading innovation in 2024—and how OnGraph experts can help you migrate.

Multi Cloud Strategy: What is it and What Drives the Need?

The term multi-cloud is often confused with a hybrid cloud environment. However, they both have a different concept. So what exactly is the multi-cloud approach?

The term “multi-cloud” strategy allows enterprises to use cloud services from different cloud strategy partners for different purposes. You can run different apps on different clouds seamlessly. 

For example, you can use AWS to host/build web apps, Oracle to manage enterprise databases, and Google Cloud for development, testing, or disaster recovery. Each provider offers different features. Using AWS and Oracle together can be beneficial and profitable. This is called a “multi-cloud strategy.”

Well, this is an example, it is up to your business requirements and budget strategy to choose a cloud provider for specific needs.

The main purpose of implementing a multi-cloud approach is to improve the scalability, reliability, and security of data, and most importantly avoid vendor lock-in at your own budget definition. 

Another important aspect of multi-cloud is multi cloud management which helps you monitor the cost of your cloud deployment. If you are moving to a multi-cloud approach, make sure you manage and monitor costs to reap its benefits. 

Some think that this is the hype that everyone is falling for. So, before you invest in a multi-cloud approach, you must understand what is driving the need to implement a multi-cloud approach.

What drives the need to implement a multi-cloud strategy in modern-age enterprises?

• Sourcing: Businesses want to be more flexible and not depend on just one vendor. They choose vendors based on factors like service availability, performance, data location, legal rules, and costs.
• Architecture: Modern applications are built to be flexible. They can work across different cloud services and use multiple cloud providers at the same time.
• Governance: Companies focus on creating a clear management system for their IT. This means setting common policies and using shared tools to manage costs across different cloud services.
• Customers often mention the benefits of a multi-cloud strategy, like better disaster recovery and easier data and application migrations.

But, first understand how multi-cloud differs from the single-cloud approach.

Single-cloud vs Multi-cloud Strategy

6 Multi-cloud Architecture Designs You Should Know

Let’s explore some popular multi-cloud architecture and multi-cloud implementation strategy.

1. Cloudification

In this setup, an app is hosted on-premise, but after moving to the cloud, it can leverage services from different cloud providers to boost performance. For example, an application component (C1) starts on-premise but then uses AWS for storage (Amazon S3) and Azure for computing (VM- virtual machine).

Benefits: increases availability because the application is hosted on multiple clouds, and it helps eliminate vendor lock-in.

2. Multi-cloud Relocation

In this setup, the app component is re-hosted on the cloud and can use services from different clouds to expand its capabilities. For example, in the image, the app component (C1) is re-hosted on AWS and can also use Azure’s environmental services. It uses Amazon S3 for storage service and can choose between AWS/Azure for computing.

Benefits: increases availability because the application is hosted on multiple clouds, and it helps eliminate vendor lock-in.

3. Multi-cloud Refactor

To improve quality of service (QoS), you can redesign an on-premise app to run on multiple cloud platforms. The application is broken into smaller components, allowing high-usage parts to be optimized separately from less-usage ones. This design helps improve performance across different clouds.

For example, before moving, here two app components AC1 and AC2 are hosted on-premise. AC1 is hosted on AWS using Amazon S3, while AC2 is hosted on Azure and can leverage any Azure service as needed.

Benefits: This approach allows for better scalability and performance, offers various cloud deployment choices, and makes it easier to adapt to changes in business or IT.

Challenges: Modernizing the on-premise app can happen in isolation and may focus mostly on technical needs. The way components are designed might need to be re-checked due to the multi-cloud setup.

4. Multi-Cloud Rebinding

In this setup, a redesigned application runs on different cloud platforms. This allows the app to keep working using a backup deployment if the main platform fails.

For example, here, two app components- AC1 and AC2 are deployed on-premise before moving. AC1 stays on-premise, while AC2 is deployed on AWS and Azure for backup. AC1 and AC2 are connected through EBS or a service bus.

Benefits: When failed services recover, traffic can flow again, making the system respond quickly.

Challenges: This design does not ensure a smooth transition if there’s a failure. There may be some downtime.

5. Multi-Cloud Rebinding with Cloud Brokerage

In this setup, a redesigned application runs on different cloud platforms. This allows the app to keep working using a backup deployment if the main platform fails, with the help of cloud brokerage services.

For example, AC1 is hosted on-premise, while two re-architected AC2 components are hosted on AWS and Azure. Cloud brokerage services connect all 3 components, giving the flexibility to opt for services from different providers.

Benefits: When failed services recover, traffic can flow again, making the system respond quickly.

Challenges: This setup does not ensure a smooth transition if there’s a failure, which may lead to downtime.

6. Multi-Application Modernization

Various on-premise apps, like A1, A2, and AC1, are redesigned as a group and moved to the cloud.

Benefits: This approach offers consistent data and rules across shared components. It also lowers operation and maintenance costs for these shared parts.

Challenges: There may be a lack of commitment from the business to support these shared features.

Choosing the right architecture is not easy, as it requires understanding your business needs and only multi-cloud providers can help you. So, let’s take a look at some tips to master your strategy.

Tips for Mastering Your Multi-cloud Environment

Managing multi-cloud environments can be difficult due to complexity, resource needs, expertise, costs, and management issues. Management is often the biggest challenge.

For example, you might have a workload that needs a lot of storage and networking on a private cloud. At the same time, you may have another workload on Amazon and another on Microsoft. Each workload is on the right cloud, but now you have to manage multiple clouds.

How can you manage this effectively? Here are five tips:

• Analyze Your Network: Look at your whole network and find out which cloud provider offers the best service for your needs. This helps reduce complexity and improves resource use.
• Automate Maintenance: Using multiple cloud providers means more maintenance and monitoring tasks. Automating these tasks is better.
• Standardize Policies: Create policies that apply automatically to each cloud environment. These should cover data storage, workloads, traffic, virtual servers, compliance, security, and reporting.
• Use Integrated Management Systems: Use a management system designed for virtual environments. This helps your server, network, storage, operations, security, and applications teams work towards common goals.
• Identify Suitable Apps: Find out which apps in your organization work best in a multi-cloud setup. Cloud-native apps are flexible, service-oriented, and easy to automate, move, and scale.

Top Benefits of Multi-cloud Strategy for Enterprises

Here are the reasons business owners should consider a multi-cloud strategy in 2024:

1. Reliable

A multi-cloud approach means businesses don’t rely on just one provider. If one cloud fails, users can still access services from other clouds.

2. Reduced Vendor Lock-in

As every business tends to scale with time, staying with only one provider might be a challenge for you to scale. With a multi-cloud strategy, you can use different providers, making it easier to choose solutions that fit their needs. This way, systems and storage are spread across multiple vendors, allowing smoother transitions during migrations.

3. Cost Efficient 

Using a multi-cloud strategy can lower IT costs. Businesses can pick the most affordable services from different providers and compare prices to get the best deals.

4. Utilize the Best Services

Companies can choose the best cloud provider for each specific need. For example, one provider might be great for hosting, while another might be better for storage. This flexibility allows businesses to craft solutions that meet their needs without having to change their internal processes.

5. Enhance Multi-cloud Security

A multi-cloud strategy helps organizations meet various regulations, like the CCPA and GDPR. It often uses a zero-trust approach to cloud security, making every transaction secure. Additionally, using multiple providers helps protect against failures or cyber-attacks. If one provider has an issue, workloads can quickly shift to another provider until the problem is fixed.

6. Low Latency

When users are all over the world and data comes from one data center, many may experience slow response times. This happens because data has to travel a long way, causing delays, known as latency.

In a multi-cloud setup, data centers can be placed in different regions based on user locations. The closest data center can quickly send data to users, reducing delays. This is especially useful for global companies that want to give a smooth experience to users in different places.

Also read- On-Premise vs Cloud: Benefits, Risk

Challenges While Implementing Multi-cloud Strategy

Here are some disadvantages for business owners to consider before investing in a multi-cloud strategy in 2024:

• Complexity of Management- Managing multiple cloud providers means dealing with different processes and technologies. It can also be hard to see everything happening when data and processes are spread across many clouds.
• Increased Latency- When services in different clouds need to communicate to fulfill user requests, it can cause delays. This depends on how well the clouds are connected, their geographical distance, and how often they need to interact.
• Greater Attack Surface- Security is very important when using the cloud. A multi-cloud setup can be riskier because more software and hardware mean more chances for problems. Different cloud providers have different security controls, which can lead to errors or misconfigurations.
• Uncontrolled Costs- While you can find cheaper services by using multiple providers, having more clouds and vendors means more bills to manage. This can lead to unexpected costs and fees.

Despite these challenges, top brands are adopting a multi-cloud approach efficiently. It requires expertise that OnGraph can offer for your seamless workload migration to the cloud and easy management. 

How are Brands Adopting Multi-cloud Strategy in 2024?

Here are some leading industry brands who have experienced a significant difference by making the right choice. 

• Netflix- Netflix is a leading streaming service that uses a multi-cloud approach. They use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for streaming and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for AI and machine learning capabilities for personalized features. This helps them improve content recommendations and enhance user experience while maintaining a strong streaming service with AWS.
• Spotify- Spotify, the popular music streaming app, combines different cloud providers. They use GCP for data analytics, benefiting from Google’s tools to analyze user behavior and create personalized playlists. At the same time, they use AWS for fast and reliable music delivery worldwide. This mix improves both their backend analytics and the user experience.
• Airbnb- Airbnb, the vacation rental platform, also uses a multi-cloud strategy. While AWS supports most of its main operations, it added Google Cloud for better big data processing. This helps them manage the large amounts of data from users, bookings, and pricing. Their approach lets them keep AWS services while using Google Cloud for data analysis.

These examples show how big tech companies use multi-cloud strategies to improve their operations. They show that a multi-cloud approach is about using the best features of different providers to meet specific needs. By following similar strategies, businesses can:

• Use the best services from each provider.
• Avoid being tied to one vendor.
• Enhance capabilities in AI, machine learning, and big data.
• Improve reliability and performance by spreading out workloads.
• Potentially save money by optimizing where workloads are placed.

However, these companies have the resources and expertise to manage complex multi-cloud setups. Smaller businesses should carefully consider their own abilities and needs before adopting a multi-cloud strategy.

Also read- Cloud Migration: Prepare Your Business to Scale and Evolve

How OnGraph Can Help?

As a leading cloud computing company, we help businesses migrate their workload, applications, and services to their preferred cloud service provider. From guidance on creating a suitable multi-cloud migration strategy to managing workloads for you, we can help you scale your business cost-effectively.

Connect with us to learn more about multi cloud computing services. 

FAQs

Q. What is multi cloud computing?

Multi-cloud computing refers to the use of multiple cloud service providers to meet various business needs, allowing organizations to leverage the strengths of each platform. This approach enhances flexibility, reduces vendor lock-in, and improves disaster recovery options.

Q. What is single cloud computing?

Single cloud computing involves using one cloud service provider to host all applications and data, simplifying management and integration. This approach can lead to cost savings but may increase the risk of vendor lock-in.

Q. How does cloud migration benefit business?

• Reduces IT infrastructure and maintenance costs.
• Easily adjusts resources to meet demand.
• Access data and applications from anywhere.
• Enhances teamwork through shared resources.
• Offers advanced security measures and regular updates.
• Provides automatic backups and quick data recovery.
• Delivers faster access to applications and data.
• Lowers carbon footprint through efficient resource use.
• Facilitates quick deployment of new services.
• Enables use of AI, machine learning, and analytics tools.