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As appreciation for the benefits of cloudcontinue to grow, enterprise investment in the technology is booming. Withboards and executives eager to utilise cloud within their organisation, thepressure is on to find and deploy a cloud platform that will helpmaintaina competitive edge. Too often, however, we see businesses opting for cloudproviders they believe offer their organisation the best benefit package.

Instead of letting vendors sell them a sparkly single cloud package, companies must deep-dive into their business to understand the different areas and how they will each benefit from the cloud.

Having these requirements at the forefront will help companies choose a cloud strategy which will truly reap the benefits. This is where a multi-cloud strategy can be the hero, offering businesses the flexibility, security and cost-efficiency they expect from the cloud.

One size does not fit all

Historically, businesses have relied on a single, on-premise data center to house all their data and applications. Now, in order to innovate and remain competitive, companies are making the leap to cloud.

Some may be tempted to create their own private cloud network in order to be completely in control at all times and not reliant on third parties. Yet many often underestimate the challenge of having an in-house, private network; not just with the set-up itself, but also the level of skills associated with maintaining the network in the long-term.

Another go-to for companies is using a public cloud platform such as AWS or Microsoft Azure which are scalable, flexible and easily accessible. However, proximity can be an issue, with companies needing to process data near its source, otherwise latency can impact results.

Other challenges can include the ease of renting space in the cloud itself, which can lead to sprawl and thereby a premium for that flexibility; as well as limitations in the solutions for different kinds of applications and workloads with some requiring very high performance while others need low-cost deep storage.

Importantly, governance and security can become more difficult to stay on top of, with businesses struggling to know and control where their data is kept in the public cloud.

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The rise of multicloud

This is not to dismiss the value and advantagesof public cloud but rather to highlight how a multicloud platform can be theperfect approach for adopting cloud in to the enterprise moving forward. Withmulticloud, companies can choose which areas of the business should go incertain cloud networks based on their needs and suitability, instead of pilingeverything into one cloud, crossing their fingers and hoping for thebest.

Flexibility is one of the key buzzwordsassociated with cloud and being able to exercise that to a full extent is oneof the many benefits of a multicloud strategy. Instead of adapting andconstraining workloads and applications to fit the cloud provider you alreadyhave, using multicloud allows you to deploy the right application in the rightplace.

By using a combination of private cloud, public cloud and on-premise servers, companies can sort different facets of the company depending on their needs. Mission-critical applications can stay onsite to eliminate reliance on any single cloud provider, as well as offering flexibility in case of an outage or unexpected change.

Apps that need elasticity, on the other hand, can straddle on-premise servers and the cloud; for example, testing and development can take place in a public cloud but production can be carried out on-premise. Business requirements change rapidly but by using multicloud resources can be scaled up or down at any time.

Despite the influx of cloud technology within enterprise, companies are still committed to on-premise servers. Investing in multicloud in tandem with on-premise servers and data centres can often be the most cost-effective model for companies.

As cloud technology matures, basic aspects will see prices fall, especially in comparison with primary storage. In addition, having multiple cloud providers with a common operating model is key to ensuring that operational costs dont overcome the savings you get from cloud.

Its also wise to avoid being tied to one vendor in order to reduce the risk of security issues shutting down your companys main source of applications and data.

As cyber-attacks become more sophisticated, a single cloud provider will struggle to keep security measures as up to date as a multi-pronged cloud strategy. Many regulatory bodies also demand that businesses diversify their cloud infrastructure in industries such as banking and healthcare.

Reaping the benefits

Undeniably, cloud technology is appreciated for its ability to cut costs, improve workload and application performance, improve business efficiency and flexibility as well as allowing companies to innovate and leverage emerging technologies.

In order to really reap these benefits, its important that companies have the choice and freedom to decide when and how they want to use different cloud providers where certain features cater to varying needs across the business.

This is where a multicloud strategy is key. Not only does it allow businesses to maximise their cloud investment, but it reduces the risk of vendor lock-in, and enables companies to innovate and meet their business requirements as well as the needs of their customers.

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