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By Alberto Jessurun / December 22, 2021 / Blog

What Is a Multi-Cloud Strategy?

The benefits and challenges of a multi-cloud IT strategy

Key Takeaways
  • A multi-cloud strategy refers to using more than one cloud-based service
  • Nearly all businesses (92%) now use a multi-cloud strategy
  • Using multiple clouds allows a business to customize its services
  • Multi-cloud storage increases computing power and storage
  • It also reduces the risk of data loss and protects uptime
  • Managing multiple clouds requires a cross-functional IT team
  • Businesses also need to ensure they have the right infrastructure in place
The shift to the cloud is long underway, but businesses are now taking another leap — the multi-cloud strategy. As implied by the name, this refers to businesses using more than one cloud-based computing or storage service in a single network architecture. 

As of 2021, 92% of businesses are using a multi-cloud strategy. The majority (82%) of businesses use a hybrid deployment consisting of a mixture of public and private clouds, and 10% of businesses rely on multiple public clouds. On average, businesses lean on 2.6 public clouds and 2.7 private clouds, and they are experimenting with another 1.1 public and 2.2 private clouds. 

A generation ago, businesses weren't relying on the cloud at all, and now, the multi-cloud strategy seems unavoidable. Why is it so popular? And should you embrace this approach to computing and data storage for your business? To help you decide, this guide provides an overview of the benefits and challenges. 

Ability to customize services

When businesses only work with a single cloud, they can only access that provider's services. If the provider doesn't keep up with the times, can't scale to the client's needs, or ups its price, the business will not be able to meet their needs. Being locked into a single vendor can hurt a business and prevent it from carrying out critical operations. 

In contrast, if a business uses multiple cloud vendors, they have more choices. They can always select the best options and services for their needs, and they can customize their selections based on their unique goals, demands, and budgetary concerns. 

Reduced risk of downtime

Cloud-based providers have less downtime than ever before, but at the same time, businesses also have an increased demand for uptime. Businesses cannot afford to lose productivity due to downtime. If their critical business line of applications is based in a cloud that goes down due to any reason, their employees may end up sitting idle. 

They may not be able to answer customers' questions, process orders, or provide services. Ultimately, downtime leads to financial losses. By spreading their operations over multiple cloud providers, businesses reduce their risk of downtime and safeguard their productivity. 

Better security for data 

If cloud-based storage systems fail due to disaster, human error, or any other reasons, businesses risk losing significant amounts of data. Storing data backups on physical devices can be expensive, and additionally, physical storage devices are susceptible to theft or physical damage. 

In contrast, if you use a multi-cloud strategy to store data on multiple clouds, you reduce your risk of data losses. To improve security even further, you can use geographically dispersed clouds to meet data sovereignty requirements. 

Increased computing power and storage

A multi-cloud strategy increases the computing power and storage available to your company. To give you a very basic example, imagine a small business that relies on free cloud-based storage through a file storage app. 

To avoid paying a fee to access more storage from that vendor, they turn to a second cloud-based file storage solution. Simply by utilizing the services of another cloud provider, this business has increased its storage capacity. 

Similarly, another company may use multiple cloud-based applications that give it the ability to perform a range of different functions. If they only used a single cloud-based provider, they wouldn't be able to accomplish as much. 

Multi-cloud management challenges

Unfortunately, managing workloads and applications where info moves from one cloud to another can be complicated. Your IT team needs to understand how different cloud-based services work so they can troubleshoot issues. To minimize risks and stay compliant with laws or industry rules, your IT team also needs to know which type of security each cloud-based provider uses. 

To embrace a multi-cloud strategy effectively, your business needs a cross-functional team. Then, they can monitor, optimize, and secure multiple applications over several different cloud-based platforms and tiers. 

Alternatively, you may be able to work with a managed service provider that can connect you with a range of different IT experts to answer your concerns. This coupled with the automatic updates and security patches from the cloud provider can help reduce management challenges. 

Difficulty with IT infrastructure integration 

The most commonly touted advantage of the cloud is that it saves businesses money on hardware. The cloud certainly saves businesses money compared to the cost of storing data and running applications on-premises. However, businesses still need the right IT infrastructure to support their cloud-based operations. 

If businesses don't have the right infrastructure, they risk compromising their security and productivity. Ultimately, the infrastructure needed to support cloud-based applications will be less expensive than the infrastructure needed to support on-premises applications. But businesses still need to be ready for some upfront investments or upgrades. 

A multi-cloud strategy has the ability to improve the performance, security, and flexibility of your business, but it also brings some operational challenges to your business. To make the most of this strategy, you need to find the vendors that can support your operations. But at the same time, you also need the right tech support. 

Contract Unisol International to talk about a multi-cloud strategy today

Are you ready to embrace a multi-cloud strategy? Do you have the infrastructure in place to support this shift? Regardless of your business's needs and challenges, we can help you find the right solutions. 

At Unisol International, we help businesses of all sizes find and implement the technology they need to improve operations. We also work with data storage companies, and if you want to increase the cloud-based services you provide to clients, we can also help you as well. To learn more, contact us at Unisol International today. 

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