A multi-cloud strategy offers organizations unparalleled freedom and flexibility to leverage the best cloud solution for their specific workloads. Additionally, multi-cloud environments can accelerate the development and delivery of customized web applications. According to the 2023 State of the Cloud Report by Flexera, 87% of the 750 cloud decision-makers and users surveyed from around the world reported having a multi-cloud strategy in place. Organizations can follow the below best practices to ensure seamless multi-cloud management and maximize its benefits.
Also read: Top 5 Reasons Why Multi-Cloud is the New Favorite of CIOs
- Data Governance
When developing a multi-cloud strategy, companies must prioritize the establishment of a robust data governance program. This ensures that end-users have complete visibility of data location, regardless of the cloud platform where it is stored.
To ensure optimal performance, compliance, and resilience in multi-cloud environments, organizations should leverage intelligent single-pane-of-glass observability solutions that incorporate AIOps. As a provider of such solutions, SolarWinds can help companies achieve their goals.
- Workload Distribution
When it comes to their multi-cloud management, organizations need to determine which workload to run in which clouds. A workload placement process that determines where your applications and databases live and run is critical for multi-cloud success.
The big cloud providers all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Weighing which provider is best for each workload can help ensure you enjoy all the benefits of a multi-cloud strategy.
As your IT estate grows over multiple clouds and on-premises environments, your sanity depends on a maintained topographical view within your observability solution.
Also read: 7 Most Pressing Multi-Cloud Management Challenges that the CIOs Face
- Integrated Systems
To achieve tangible benefits from a multi-cloud environment, companies must develop an integrated system of resources. Integration streamlines the monitoring of disparate cloud networks, enables easy scheduling of application maintenance, and helps identify potential threats to the cloud infrastructure.
- IPaas
By utilizing an IPaas (Integration Platform as a Service) solution, companies can seamlessly integrate cloud services from multiple vendors. An IPaas solution serves as the backbone for a multi-cloud enterprise architecture by enhancing system connectivity between different cloud environments. It enables cloud vendors to securely and quickly analyze, assess, and synchronize data. Additionally, it simplifies integration processes with reusable data modules, facilitating practical self-service analysis.
- Containerization
In multi-cloud environments, leveraging containerization is crucial. Packaging applications and databases in containers ensure portability across clouds without sacrificing performance. This portability enables DevOps teams to test applications in different clouds. Platforms such as Kubernetes and Docker can optimize databases and applications in multi-cloud environments by automating workloads across cloud providers.
Containerization and its portability also provide cost-control benefits.
In addition, containerization allows maintaining the same codebase while moving applications between clouds and on-premises. This makes it possible to accurately compare costs between different cloud providers.
- Security
Proper security protocol implementation is crucial to counter known and unknown threats in a multi-cloud environment. A robust security posture requires complete visibility and control of all applications across cloud platforms, with strong access control, data security, network security, and audit trails.
- Management System
To take full advantage of the benefits offered by a multi-cloud environment, companies must establish a robust management system. Since data will be dispersed across various public, private, hybrid, and on-premise platforms, companies must secure and manage it effectively, regardless of the environment in which it resides.
Also read: These Organizations Should Avoid a Multi-Cloud Strategy
Multi-cloud approaches have gained popularity due to their numerous benefits. If implemented effectively, a multi-cloud strategy can give businesses unmatched digital flexibility.
