Developing a Multi-Cloud Strategy: 10 Factors to Consider

by Chris Preimesberger

As evidenced by the term, multi-cloud underlines the need to develop an ecosystem. An established ecosystem means access to a comprehensive range of resources and tools that will enable users to tap into innovation and grant you the ability to bring applications closer to data. These are important considerations that directly affect the smooth flow of data from one point to another.

The more the merrier. Multi-tenant data centers enable users to be in close proximity to thousands of service providers and enterprises, which can ease the growing pains of forming partnerships and reaching customers.

Location, location, location. To meet the fast-paced nature and demand for instant gratification from end users, enterprises require lower latency and optimized performance and reliability. By locating data centers closer to high-traffic density areas—and therefore users—companies are able to satisfy this craving.

Vendor lock-in is waning and interoperability is emerging as a requirement for many businesses. Companies want options. The result is that businesses are implementing solutions that enable them to pick and choose services across vendors.

It’s common for IT organizations to make decisions based on workflows and workloads. However, it is also important to consider end-user experience for a successful cloud migration and multi-cloud deployment to be a reality. Users must emphasize network and application performance, given they have a significant impact on user experience.

Moving data between cloud environments and managing these respective environments are still challenging feats. At the present time, businesses can rely on portals and APIs for provisioning and managing their connections to cloud services, but migrations are still often an intensive process. In an ideal world, a drag-and-drop model will become available, which will enable a seamless migration of applications and data from one cloud to another. Tools such as Docker are emerging to provide agility by enabling applications to be easily deployed across environments.

By using private connections, companies can bypass the public Internet and receive the benefits of lower latency and heightened security. Transferring data between cloud services instantly becomes faster and more secure. Direct, dedicated connections provide better control, reliability and higher performance, which remain high on the list of most-desired features for enterprises.

Security is always a primary concern for business. Misconceptions about cloud security can hinder cloud adoption, although increasing education on the cloud is leading to increased trust. Cloud security often goes well beyond what any enterprise could ever envision or afford; this includes identity and access management, as well as compliance with Service Organization Controls (SOC), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Federal Risk and Authorization Program (FedRAMP) and ISO 27001 (which governs data security). Enterprise IT and security organizations adopting multi-cloud strategies should ensure that their own security policies and procedures are optimized.

Robust network connections are often overlooked and undervalued. The network plays a major role in terms of user experience, including accessibility, reliability and speed. To successfully deploy a multi-cloud environment, companies must have strong network connections already established. Select network service providers that emphasize performance. After all, the cloud is only as reliable as your network.

In the digital economy, and given the number of business-critical applications moving to the cloud, app performance can be a major competitive differentiator. Companies must evaluate how reduced latency, improved performance and access to key markets can drive business growth by ensuring faster and more reliable application delivery.