Multi-cloud management is a necessity for organizations that work with multiple cloud storage providers at the same time. It helps them deploy and monitor several workloads over different cloud-based platforms.
Businesses need easy access to data across different cloud platforms from a single interface. This makes it easier for their non-tech-savvy staff to access multiple cloud platforms simultaneously, such as AWS, Azure, and even Kubernetes.
Organizations often choose to operate multiple cloud platforms because it makes it easier to stay ahead. However, if they put their data with one provider and there is an issue, it can be impossible to access or use that info on time, slowing down business response times.
What Makes Multi-Cloud Better Than Multiple Clouds?
For starters, using a multi-cloud platform reduces the strain on a company’s IT team. In addition, it offers a simple and intuitive user interface that makes it much easier to manage workloads and applications across multiple clouds.
Using one software to access, analyze, and manage all of your data gives you maximum data availability, allowing you always to have the information you need.
Using management software also dramatically reduces the risk of data being compromised. For example, individually running multiple cloud platforms mean you have to make sure they are all protected separately. This can take up hours of your time and may even mandate hiring separate resources to ensure the round-the-clock security of your cloud assets. But with management software, you can rest assured that data is protected because it’s all centralized in one place, giving you a bird’s eye view of the security situation and more.
Additionally, the payments are more streamlined since you won’t have to keep track of them separately. Instead of paying for different platforms, you pay for the management software instead. So, where you were paying for multiple platforms, you are now paying for one management software. Some management software even has a feature where they use data analysis to suggest different cost-cutting measures.
Benefits Of Using Multi-cloud Software
It’s possible to create a ‘unified approach across multiple clouds’ with the following three facets of multi-cloud management done right:
Instant Automation
Automation saves time, and time is money. Besides, doing things manually can often eat through time and resources that could be used elsewhere. In addition, when a process is automated, it will continue to happen in the background while those important resources are directed elsewhere.
Multi-cloud management makes it easy to deploy an application and manage it regularly without the need for regular human intervention.
Using automation can do things such as improve the flexibility of the work being done. For example, you can have data stored across multiple platforms by using something such as multi-cloud backup. In the case of a breach or corruption in one drive, the others are already ready and waiting. If a process like this is automated, it can happen multiple times a day, with people focusing on actual work instead of backing up their data.
Also, adding automation to your workflow makes it a lot easier to recover from possible disasters. For example, let’s say your office systems get hacked or attacked by some malicious code. Of course, some data might be lost, but since you automated data backups, it’s possible to recover most of your essential info and processes from the cloud. Thus, you saved time and money by ensuring that precious data was not compromised.
Visibility Over Everything
You must always be one step ahead of everything to make sure you’re on the right track. Failure to do so can often lead to losses down the line that could have been avoided.
When running multiple cloud platforms, it is possible to get lost in the multitude of interfaces. While they might all have the same basic structure, they will work in different ways. Having to learn to adapt to every single one of them can be taxing and time-consuming.
Using multi-cloud software can allow you to have one single vantage point to keep track of all your data, applications, and workloads.
Multi-cloud software lets a business know what parts of the company are operating and how they perform. This way, you can see how different applications are doing, saving a ton of time and resources.
Regardless of whether you are using a public or private cloud platform, the ability to monitor all of it from one place makes life infinitely more accessible.
Check And Balance
One of the essential parts of running a business is making sure all things are in order. There needs to be a check and balance maintained to make sure that things go according to plan. If left on its own, the structure begins to collapse under the weight of its instability.
The same can be used for the cloud. If an IT department is tasked with maintaining multiple cloud platforms, there is always a real chance of a mix-up. It could either be incorrect login credentials, data being transferred to the wrong location, or improper access given to the wrong people.
Imagine if access to a drive with confidential corporate documents was given to someone who had come in for an interview. This person was supposed to get access to a folder with a test but instead is reading about all the skeletons in the company’s closet.
Using multi-cloud software, the IT and DevOps teams can use a shared governance and security policy to protect and maintain all information. In addition, when using a single interface, a single set of rules can be implemented across the board. This will save everyone time as well as a whole lot of money and risk.
Challenges Faced By Multi-cloud And What We Can Do About It
Find The Right Fit
Different businesses use the cloud for different things. Not every cloud service is compatible with all types of workloads, applications, or tasks. Some might have an interface that suits a specific cloud environment but not another.
When trying to find the right multi-cloud management tool, organizations invest a significant amount of time and money to make sure they have the right one. Consider evaluating other options, choosing what suits your needs, and implementing it across multiple cloud environments.
Bring It All Together
It is one thing to choose a new system and software; it is another thing to implement it into the workflow. Most companies have been using the same IT infrastructure for several years now, with the entire workforce using one type of software. By introducing new software, you are asking them to relearn everything.
Often referred to as a ‘single plane of glass,’ one issue that multi-cloud management tools pose is their ability to properly integrate with different cloud providers, service tiers, and standards from one unified platform.
This can present itself as a challenge because there are people of all age groups that work together. Younger people may be able to learn new technology quicker, but older people might struggle. This can create a disparity that might not be in the organization’s best interest.
Companies can use a specially designed cloud management platform that uses legacy systems alongside the new and improved solutions, ensuring smoother transitions in multi-cloud environments.
Making Sure It Doesn’t Cost Too Much
The purpose of a business is to make money and, eventually, a profit. Therefore, if finances are dealt with properly, the right decisions are made, and if the market is favorable, a profit is generated.
Shifting business to cloud environments means reducing the cost of things like servers and on-site data centers. As a result, it saves on maintaining these systems and cuts costs in places like electricity bills.
However, using multi-cloud management tools can often cost a lot more than initially planned if not appropriately managed. Cloud usage might reduce costs in some areas, but it still comes with its own price tag. There are costs associated with the software that need to be taken into consideration.
For example, if a company uses major cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure at an enterprise level, it is almost certainly using a lot of storage. This storage comes at a price, so keeping it in check is crucial. Proper cost optimization strategies and cost management practices are essential to ensuring that the company reaps cost savings without compromising performance.
It may be good to use a cloud management platform to manage both of these services and benefit the company as much as possible in multiple clouds.
Safety And Security, A Paramount Part Of It
Data security is one area where there can be absolutely no compromise. If any information gets out when it shouldn’t, it could be a PR disaster and a financial one. Companies might recover from the first but rarely do from the second.
Security can often be a challenge when vital data is kept on-premises. For example, a file cabinet with files can be broken into, and information can be stolen. When information is stored in multiple cloud environments, this challenge becomes more complicated.
There is also a challenge that many people need to consider before using a multi-cloud management tool with data security. When an organization transitions toward a multi-cloud environment, the challenge arises when using an older security system with new technology.
To solve this, the organization needs to define its digital landscape to the cloud providers clearly. It must present a clear and defined case where each facet of its system is made transparent so that the best possible product can be recommended for use. Failure to do this can have long-lasting implications that are unfavorable across the entire board.
Times Are Changing; You Need To Keep Up
Change is constant in life. If there is one thing that we can bet all that we have on to happen, it is change. The same can be said for the cloud computing world.
Never has an industry been more susceptible to change as it has been to information technology. Updates can be rolled out over the air, eliminating the need to get up and go and get a new software version.
For a business to stay up to date, it needs to stay ahead of the curve. Therefore, any organization that uses any modern technology must also be constantly looking for new developments. This allows them to be prepared for implementing a change in the best way possible.
We work with organizations small and large in helping them to navigate the complexities of multi-cloud software development environments with a team of expert software developers. Contact us today for help with your next project.
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