By IT Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
Many organizations have some version of a multicloud strategy. For example, a design firm might choose to use multiple types of software-as-a-service (SaaS) visualization and data tools from a variety of tech companies. A multicloud strategy helps IT professionals avoid relying too much on any one cloud vendor, which in turn can help limit costs, downtime, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
It’s important to note that multicloud differs from hybrid cloud, which is a mix of public and private clouds within the same organization, and which (in theory) pairs the security and control of a private cloud with the scalability of a public cloud. While a multicloud could feature a private cloud, it’s not a requirement, and a multicloud is ultimately more about spreading a cloud workload across multiple vendors than trying to leverage the benefits of two types of clouds.
IT pros interested in creating a multicloud environment for their organization would do well to follow some best practices, including standardizing governance and security controls across all vendors’ clouds; designing dashboards and other monitoring tools that allow cross-cloud visibility; reducing latency between clouds as much as possible; optimizing and automating where possible; and consistently track resource usage between vendors.
By following these best practices, IT pros can avoid some of the downsides of multiclouds, including inconsistent security protocols, interoperability issues, and spiraling costs that aren’t easily visible until it’s too late. If done incorrectly, multicloud introduces complexities no organization needs—but done correctly, it can make a cloud strategy much more efficient.
