Providers like AWS, Azure and Google Cloud Platform are making it that much easier for enterprises to utilize a multi-cloud approach. For those that are considering or have just adopted a multi-cloud strategy for their business, let’s take a look at some of the issues, vendors and tools that go into the management of a multi-cloud environment.
One of the biggest benefits of utilizing a multi-cloud strategy, according to CTO of European Tour and Ryder Cup, Michael Cole, is risk management. If your business has the ability to spread its workload to multiple providers, you have coverage when unexpected issues arise—such as provider outages.
Some CIOs inadvertently ended up with multi-cloud strategies by entering into contracts with several cloud providers at once out of necessity. This was an unanticipated side effect of increasingly pushing more applications and on-demand data toward businesses.
Experts suggest that cloud consumption will only continue to increase in the future. Analyst Gartner believes that by 2025 over 85 percent of organizations will run using a cloud-first principle. Since organizations are exclusively using on-demand IT services, the spending on cloud services is likely to surpass the revenue coming in from non-cloud services.
In fact, next year could see a huge jump in global cloud spending. Gartner expects that cloud spending could reach $474B—this is up from $408B spent in 2021. Gartner also suggests that in the future businesses won’t be able to fully execute digital strategies if they’re not using architecture and technologies that are cloud-native.
Additionally, this means that business environments will likely have an increased reliance on the cloud. This will mean that CIOs will need to ensure that businesses will be able to “turn on the tap” with ease and through cost-saving methods.
Director of information technology at George Best Belfast City Airport, Brian Roche, feels that businesses will need to continue to utilize external service providers. Roche feels that the best way to do this is by utilizing a multi-cloud strategy. Moreover, by using a multi-cloud strategy, it can take some of the work off a business’ plate, which frees up both time and money.
According to Roche, the airport was able to cut its IT operating costs by half as well as create a platform for data-led business transformation. This was accomplished by migrating their existing technology infrastructure to Nutanix Enterprise Cloud. This platform then combines with a multi-cloud strategy they have in place.
If you’re a small business owner, or are planning to begin operating a small business in the future, it’s important to consider whether you’re going to use a single cloud or multi-cloud environment for your IT services. It can be difficult to play catch up if you choose one and have to switch to the other later.
