5 Reasons To Consider Multi-Cloud For Your Organization

Matthew George | Tuesday, August 10, 2021

5 Reasons To Consider Multi-Cloud For Your Organization

A multi-cloud setup can be used to eliminate the dependence on any individual cloud provider. This article explains why a multi-cloud setup could be beneficial for your organization.  

A multi-cloud system or setup uses various cloud computing solutions and services to form one heterogeneous architecture. This can include various cloud software, applications, and assets. This is not the same as a hybrid cloud because rather than referring to multiple deployment modes, it uses various services and solutions. It's also important to be aware that synchronization between different vendors is not essential with this type of setup.  

For instance, an organization could decide to use various cloud providers for everything from the platform to services and the infrastructure. 

By 2025, there will be more than 100 zettabytes of data stored on cloud servers. Total global storage is also expected to climb over 200 zettabytes. This means that half of all data will be stored on the cloud. In 2021, cloud data centers will also process more than 94% of all workouts.  

According to Canalys, the largest cloud computing company is Amazon Web Services (AWS). This company holds more than 32% of the market, followed by Microsoft Azure at 19 percent. Google Cloud is still popular with 7% of the total market share. 

It's worth noting that Jeff Bezos attributes the success of AWS to the seven years it had on the market before any significant competition emerged. It ensured that AWS could develop more functions.  

It's also worth noting that 81% of all enterprises on the market right now have a multi-cloud strategy already in place. As well as this, the average individual uses 36 different cloud-based services every day. Hybrid cloud growth is also expected to reach upwards of $53.3 billion this year

So, let's look at why a multi-cloud strategy could be the right choice for your organization. There are a variety of key factors worth considering.  

It's also worth noting that 81% of all enterprises on the market right now have a multi-cloud strategy already in place. As well as this, the average individual uses 36 different cloud-based services every day.  

So, let's look at why a multi-cloud strategy could be the right choice for your organization. There are a variety of key factors worth considering.  

  1.  Achieving The Highest ROI 
  2. Key To Digital Transformation 
  3. Avoiding Disasters 
  4. Complying To Regulations 
  5. Minimizing Issues With Data Gravity 
  6.  Achieving The Highest ROI 

No two cloud solutions are the same. Despite being popular Google CloudAzure and AWS are actually quite different not just in terms of their physical infrastructure but individual characteristics. Functionality, pricing, and policies all differ depending on the cloud solution that you choose.  

Due to a lack of transparency, it isn't easy to know exactly which cloud is going to match your business needs and requirements. When you choose a vendor it is vital to understand they are constantly changing the capabilities that they can offer companies. Due to this, it is difficult if not impossible for businesses to choose the right cloud solution every time. Instead, they need to ensure that they rely on individual metrics and options. This can lead to the wrong cloud server being used for a critical part of your business.  

However, there is a solution and that is implementing a multi-cloud strategy. With a multi-cloud strategy, it is possible to ensure that there are no trade offs or compromised choices. Instead, you will be able to take advantage of a massive variety of options that can be used to solve various needs and issues in your business model. Thus the returns that you receive can be effectively optimized by exploring this possibility.  

This isn't the only reason a multi-cloud solution can deliver a better ROI. With this setup, you will be able to achieve a high-speed infrastructure with low latency. This can ensure both rapid response times as well as a more positive user experience. Dependency-related challenges that are tied to a single cloud model are also effectively overcome.  

There are even lower levels of risks associated with this type of setup. Using a multi-cloud approach it is easier to effectively recover from issues with outages and hardware failures. You will always be able to take advantage of the best cloud solution available for different processes in your business. This guarantees that a positive ROI is achieved with your investment.  

Key To Digital Transformation  

What is digital transformation? It is best described as the integration of digital technology into virtually every area of a business model. Effective digital transformation will revolutionize how a business operates, ensuring that it can deliver more value to customers. There has to be a massive shakeup of the entire business process and structure to achieve digital transformation. In the future, digital transformation will be essential for large and small businesses alike. People often assume that digital transformation is just another way of moving a business towards a cloud approach. This is not the case. Effective digital transformation must tackle the problems that a company is facing. A single cloud solution may not be enough.  

A multi-cloud approach will allow a business to test and build new concepts that are effective and efficient. A transformation like this will always require experimentation with the data that you have accumulated. A multi-cloud system can be used to test different ways to respond to a business's technology needs. Multi-cloud setups can also be used to transition a business from an old setup towards a new concept.  

Multi-cloud systems can also be an essential part of optimizing the functions of a business and ensuring that they do work effectively. This includes disaster recovery environments as well as long-term data retention uses.  

By choosing multi-cloud solutions businesses have more power over how they store, manage, and utilize their data. They can choose the services and solutions that are most cost-optimized while also reducing vendor-lock in solutions. With a multi-cloud set up, businesses can also use the best services to ensure that they do meet their specific workload. This is all about choosing the right partner to ensure that the key foundations are in place for an effective multi-cloud model.  

A multi-cloud solution will also mean organizations can choose specific locations for their cloud storage to get the greatest benefits during the transformation process.  

Avoiding Disasters  

Downtime is a massive issue for businesses and organizations. Over the past year, 82% of businesses experienced some form of downtime. In 2016, the average cost of downtime for a business had reached more than $260,00 per hour. In 2021, 98% of organizations claimed a single hour had cost their company more than $100,000.  

Downtime is also on the rise. One ITIC study found that downtime had risen by more than 30% over the past year.  

With a multi-cloud solution, you can tackle the issue of downtime head-on because you won't be putting all your eggs into one basket. If one cloud server fails to provide the solution you need, then you will always have backups in place that you can benefit from. With a multi-cloud system, you will usually receive 95.5% availability guaranteed. As such, you can distribute your workload across multiple different cloud networks which will each deliver the same low SLA guarantee. The possibility of multiple downtime issues across various cloud servers is comparatively lower compared to using just one service. This also opens up more ways that business owners can essentially mitigate significant levels of risk.  

If one cloud server fails, then in a multi-cloud setup, you can move a workload from one public cloud to another. The system can also be designed to take into account application-specific requirements. This will take advantage of performance and costs to ensure that the disaster recovery solution is fully optimized. You might think that moving workloads from one cloud to another is going to cause significant downtime unto itself. However, this is not the case. Instead, with the right setup, the transfer can be effectively instant. It will ensure that your business can continue to fire on all cylinders without any hindrances or issues.  

Complying To Regulations  

Using a multi-cloud approach in an organization can also help ensure that you can effectively comply with the latest regulations. Regulations surrounding data storage and data usage are constantly shifting. The GDPR impacts every currently and applies to various forms of personal data that an organization might store. It also requires organizations to provide users with 8 basic rights including: 

  •  Right to access 
  • Right to be informed 
  • Right to data portability  
  • Right to be forgotten 
  • Right to object  
  • Right to restrict processing 
  • Right to be notified 
  • Right to rectification 

In 2020, 59% of respondents in one survey were reported to be up to date with data compliance. A large portion of businesses was still not hitting the mark. Organizations can effectively comply with data regulations by ensuring that they do take advantage of cloud services provided in regional locations where data localization is not a specific requirement. Using a multi-cloud approach, organizations can explore cloud solutions in multiple different countries, each with its own data laws. Some of these will always be more relaxed compared to others.  

Of course, multi-cloud systems can also help ensure that other security issues are effectively reduced including problems associated with shadow IT. This occurs when independent organizations adopt tech solutions without the support of a full IT department. This can cause security concerns, particularly if staff is using solutions that are not secure. In 2020, it was predicted that 30% of hackers will target Shadow IT resources used in enterprise organizations. Of these, the majority of the attacks will be successful. With a multi-cloud approach, businesses can guarantee that employees do not need to implement technology that is less secure without proceeding through the necessary channels. It can also help drive higher levels of employee productivity and collaboration overall.  

Minimizing Issues With Data Gravity 

In 2021 data has become central to virtually every business. It is key to typical operations for thousands of companies on the market. Usually, organizations store their data on-premises to ensure that it can be analyzed through the use of legacy applications. However, now that cloud solutions are readily available more businesses than ever are choosing to store data on cloud systems away from business premises. This brings us to the concept of data gravity. 

Data gravity refers to how complicated it is to move large data sets from one area to another so that they can effectively be analyzed. If you are using a single cloud solution, then this is going to potentially force your business to also utilize the same services and apps that this original service provides. Ultimately, these additional services may not be the right fit for your business model or your company requirements. With a lowered data gravity it's possible to avoid this issue completely. That is achieved with a multiple cloud server setup. A multiple cloud solution will mean that you are connected to different clouds simultaneously. The best solutions will ensure that data is effectively minimized by ensuring that hosting data is near the cloud data centers you are using. You will have full control over your data so that you can use it in a way that is secure while easily being able to transfer it to different clouds. You will also be able to access a wider scope of tools and resources that could be beneficial to your business. This ensures that you are not stuck with solutions that aren't going to be relevant to your specific company model. 

Summary  

It's clear then that a multi-cloud solution can provide numerous benefits for a business and solve a vast range of different problems that could be plaguing your company model. With an increased level of flexibility and the ability to mitigate potential risks surrounding large data sets, a multi-cloud setup is going to be the future for many organizations. However, it is important to make sure that you and your team have the right training to get the most benefits from this type of setup.  

Find Out More  

If you are interested in learning more about cloud training, please do not hesitate to explore our services today. At ExitCertified, we provide cloud training for both individuals and organizations and are partnered with more than 25 different technology brands.  

Google Cloud vs. AWS: What’s Best for You?

Google Cloud vs. AWS: What’s Best for You?

Google and Amazon have led the charge in propelling the mass adoption of cloud technology by making task completion more efficient and cost-effective. Cloud computing is here to stay for a long time, and companies that don’t adopt it may be left behind. But how do you know what's best for your organization: Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services (AWS)?