Let’s Talk Cloud, A Growing Challenge
Have you ever had that terrible sensation when a business-critical program fails exactly when you need it most? Perhaps it’s Black Friday or your latest product launch, and a traffic rush knocks your system offline. If your entire organisation is dependent on a single cloud provider, this situation might become a nightmare. But there’s good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. Enter the multi-cloud approach, a growing trend among enterprises seeking flexibility, dependability, and cost savings. And, certainly, it is becoming a requirement rather than a buzzword.
According to a recent Gartner poll, more than 81% of companies have already implemented a multi-cloud strategy, mostly to limit the risk of service outages. So, if you feel trapped with your existing configuration, you are not alone. Businesses all throughout the world are making the transition. Let’s look at why this is occurring and why you should think about it, too.
What is Multi-Cloud, Anyway?
Assume you own a firm and have to select between three leading cloud service providers: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Each provides something distinct – AWS may excel in processing power, Azure may be your go-to for corporate integrations, and Google Cloud may provide the greatest AI and analytics capabilities. Instead of placing all your eggs in one basket, a multi-cloud approach involves utilising the greatest features of each.
| Provider | Strengths | Use Case |
| AWS | Computing power, scalability | High-performance applications |
| Azure | Enterprise integrations, hybrid cloud solutions | Integration with existing enterprise systems |
| Google Cloud | AI and data analytics tools | Machine learning, big data analytics |
Consider it like assembling a dream squad. You wouldn’t employ three point guards for a basketball game; you’d want a variety of abilities. The same idea applies here: by distributing your workloads across different clouds, you have access to each’s greatest capabilities, suited to your individual requirements. And, guess what? You avoid vendor lock-in, which may limit growth and innovation.
Why Businesses are Moving to Multi-Cloud
So, why are businesses attracted to this approach? Let us break it down into three major benefits:
- Flexibility You Can Feel You are not limited with a multi-cloud arrangement. Need to increase your computer power for a new AI project? Utilise AWS’ powerful instances. Running sensitive data analytics? Google Cloud’s AI technologies have got you covered. This level of flexibility allows you to pivot fast, adjust to market needs, and capitalise on new technologies as they emerge.
- Improved uptime and reliability. We’ve all heard the headlines about huge cloud outages. When one provider fails, your entire organisation may suffer as a result. However, with a multi-cloud architecture, your workloads are distributed among many providers, ensuring that if one fails, the others continue to function. Remember when Netflix had many failures with AWS a couple years ago? They learnt their lesson and implemented a multi-cloud approach to avoid a recurrence calamity.
- Cost Efficiency that Adds Up Here’s a startling fact: a well-planned multi-cloud strategy can save you money. By choosing the most cost-effective services from several suppliers, you avoid splurging on things that you do not use. For example, organisations claim an average 15% savings in cloud expenses after transitioning to a multi-cloud approach. It’s like looking around for the greatest discounts rather than paying a premium for one-stop convenience.
The Real-Life Story : Stake’s Multi-Cloud Transformation
Stake, an online trading firm with over 450,000 customers, was challenged to rapidly scale its platform while maintaining data availability and compliance across a worldwide user base. Initially, Stake created a monolithic Java application to swiftly provide its MVP. However, when the firm approached product-market fit, the rigidity of its monolithic design became a barrier, restricting scalability and making future changes difficult. To address these issues, Stake upgraded to a contemporary, cloud-native architecture based on microservices, Kubernetes, and Go. This move also includes switching from PostgreSQL to CockroachDB, a distributed database designed for cloud settings that allows engineers to onboard faster and improves operational efficiency.
Stake’s strategic shift to CockroachDB enabled smooth expansion across AWS and GCP, using a multi-cloud, multi-region deployment. By leveraging CockroachDB’s inbuilt support for data locality constraints, Stake obtained the ability to regulate where data is kept, which is critical for compliance with worldwide data rules. This capability was critical in handling data sovereignty needs across many countries while maintaining excellent availability and performance for customers worldwide. Adrian Hannelly, Stake’s Head of DevOps, described CockroachDB’s ability to ease data residency management as a game changer, giving robust control that previous database systems lacked.
Source : https://www.cockroachlabs.com/blog/fintech-multi-cloud-architecture/
But It’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows
Now, let’s be honest: a multi-cloud approach is not without its obstacles. Managing several platforms may be difficult, and it takes a competent team that understands the differences between each supplier. Security is another major worry. When working with various clouds, you must ensure that the policies are consistent across all of them. If you do not have the necessary tools and processes in place, you risk leaving gaps for hackers to exploit.
Best Practices for a Smooth Transition to Multi-Cloud
If you’re considering making the switch to multi-cloud, here are a few pointers to get you started:
- Utilise centralised management tools. Using solutions like as Kubernetes or HashiCorp Terraform, you can manage deployments across several clouds smoothly. These solutions provide a centralised mechanism to manage setups, eliminating the complexity associated with juggling numerous platforms.
- Prioritise security from day one. Set up a zero-trust security approach and invest in monitoring solutions such as Azure Security Centre or AWS GuardDuty. The more insight you have into your cloud environments, the easier it will be to identify and resolve possible concerns before they become problems.
- Regularly review your cloud use and costs. One of the most significant benefits of multi-cloud is the potential for cost savings, but only if you closely monitor your consumption. Use technologies such as CloudHealth to track your spending and discover places where you may minimise costs.
A Quick Recap: Is Multi-Cloud Right for You?
The answer is dependent on your company objectives, but if you want to enhance flexibility, minimise risk, and optimise expenses, it’s worth exploring. Begin small, experiment with several providers, and determine what works best for your workloads.
Did you know? Nearly one fifth of the organisations polled (19%) recognise the commercial advantages of multi-cloud, while almost all (70%) struggle with multi-cloud complexity. At the same time, the great majority of organisations (95%) believe that multi-cloud architectures are now essential for commercial success. (Source : https://news.broadcom.com/reaching-multicloud-tipping-point)
This statistic isn’t simply a random number; it represents the real, demonstrable benefits that multi-cloud may provide.