Multi cloud strategy

How to start with Multi Cloud Strategy

A multi-cloud strategy is a plan for using multiple cloud computing platforms to deliver applications and services. Multi-cloud strategies can offer a number of benefits, including:

• Increased agility and flexibility

• Improved cost-effectiveness

• Enhanced security and compliance

• Greater scalability and redundancy

However, there are also some challenges associated with multi-cloud strategies, such as:

• Increased complexity

• Management overhead

• Security risks

For multi-billion dollar enterprises, it is important to carefully define a multi-cloud strategy that addresses both the benefits and challenges. Here are some key considerations for defining a multi-cloud strategy:

• Business goals: What are the business goals that the multi-cloud strategy is intended to support?

• Applications and workloads: What applications and workloads will be deployed on the multi-cloud?

• Cloud providers: Which cloud providers will be used?

• Security and compliance: How will security and compliance be managed across the multi-cloud?

• Cost: How will the cost of the multi-cloud be managed?

• Management: How will the multi-cloud be managed?

Once these considerations have been addressed, a multi-cloud strategy can be defined that meets the needs of the business.

Here are some additional tips for defining a multi-cloud strategy:

• Start with a clear business case: The first step in defining a multi-cloud strategy is to develop a clear business case. This should identify the benefits that the multi-cloud can offer to the business, as well as the challenges that need to be addressed.

• Involve all stakeholders: A multi-cloud strategy will impact many different parts of the business, so it is important to involve all stakeholders in the planning process. This will help to ensure that the strategy meets the needs of the entire organization.

• Be flexible: The cloud computing landscape is constantly changing, so it is important to build flexibility into the multi-cloud strategy. This will allow the organization to adapt to changes in the market and the needs of the business.

• Monitor and adjust: Once the multi-cloud strategy is in place, it is important to monitor its performance and make adjustments as needed. This will help to ensure that the strategy is meeting the needs of the business and that it is being managed effectively.

Dimensions of Considerations

1. Provisioning and Orchestration

2. Security, Identity management and compliance controls

3. Inventory management

4. Service Enablement

5. Monitoring and observability

6. Cost management and resource optimization

7. Cloud migration, Backup, Disaster recovery

Examples of Multi Cloud Implementation

• Netflix: Netflix uses a multi-cloud strategy to deliver its streaming service to customers around the world. The company uses a combination of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to ensure that its service is always available and reliable.

• Spotify: Spotify uses a multi-cloud strategy to store and process its users' music data. The company uses a combination of AWS, Azure, and GCP to ensure that its data is always secure and available.

• The New York Times: The New York Times uses a multi-cloud strategy to deliver its news and information to readers around the world. The company uses a combination of AWS, Azure, and GCP to ensure that its website and apps are always available and reliable.

• Walmart: Walmart uses a multi-cloud strategy to run its retail operations. The company uses a combination of AWS, Azure, and GCP to store and process its inventory data, manage its supply chain, and run its online store.

• Bank of America: Bank of America uses a multi-cloud strategy to deliver its banking services to customers. The company uses a combination of AWS, Azure, and GCP to store and process its customer data, manage its risk, and run its online banking platform.

These are just a few examples of multi-cloud solutions that have been successful in industry. By using a multi-cloud strategy, these companies are able to achieve a number of benefits, including:

• Increased agility and flexibility

• Improved cost-effectiveness

• Enhanced security and compliance

• Greater scalability and redundancy

Enterprise case study of multi cloud

Here are some good case studies on multi-cloud implementation in enterprise:

• VR Group: VR Group is a Finnish railway company that provides passenger rail services. In 2014, they decided to move their IT infrastructure to the cloud. They chose a multi-cloud approach, using both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. This allowed them to get the best of both worlds: the scalability and flexibility of AWS, and the security and reliability of Azure.

• Börse Stuttgart: Börse Stuttgart is a German stock exchange. In 2017, they decided to move their trading platform to the cloud. They chose a multi-cloud approach, using AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. This allowed them to achieve high availability and performance, while also reducing costs.

• Provident México: Provident México is a Mexican financial services company. In 2018, they decided to move their IT infrastructure to the cloud. They chose a multi-cloud approach, using AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. This allowed them to improve agility and innovation, while also reducing costs.

• Metamarkets: Metamarkets is a company that provides data analytics software. In 2016, they experienced an outage in their AWS cloud environment. This outage caused them to lose service to their customers. To prevent this from happening again, they decided to move to a multi-cloud environment. They now use AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. This allows them to achieve high availability and performance, while also reducing risk.

• Jade Global: Jade Global is a managed services provider. In 2019, they were hired by a customer to manage their multi-cloud environment. The customer had a complex environment with multiple cloud providers and different workloads. Jade Global was able to successfully manage the environment and improve the customer's experience.

More examples of Multi cloud

• Retail: Retailers such as Sephora and Lululemon have adopted multi-cloud strategies to support their e-commerce operations. Sephora uses a combination of Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform to power their mobile app, website, and loyalty program. Lululemon uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its website and Microsoft Azure for its e-commerce platform.

• Finance: Financial institutions such as Capital One and Goldman Sachs are using multi-cloud strategies to support their digital transformation initiatives. Capital One uses AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure to power its digital banking services, while Goldman Sachs uses AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure to support its digital wealth management platform.

• Healthcare: Healthcare organizations such as Allscripts and Cerner are adopting multi-cloud strategies to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. Allscripts uses AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform to power its electronic health records platform, while Cerner uses AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud to support its healthcare IT solutions.

• Manufacturing: Manufacturing companies such as Siemens and Honeywell are using multi-cloud strategies to support their Industry 4.0 initiatives. Siemens uses AWS and Microsoft Azure to support its IoT platform, while Honeywell uses AWS and Azure to power its industrial automation solutions.

• Gaming: Gaming companies such as Ubisoft and Epic Games are adopting multi-cloud strategies to support their online gaming platforms. Ubisoft uses AWS and Google Cloud Platform to power its online gaming services, while Epic Games uses AWS and Microsoft Azure to support its popular game Fortnite.

Case Study

Hospital

multi-cloud strategy involved the use of AWS, integrated with the client’s existing Azure-based components.

Approach

01. Design

• Design solution on AWS.

02. Implementation

• Created a CloudFormation template and implemented the architecture on AWS.

• Recommended an always-on architecture for servers and databases.

03. Connectivity

• Established connectivity between AWS VPC to Azure and the client’s MPLS network.

• Deployed monitoring agents to benchmark performance. Set up AWS instance monitoring on on CPU, memory, and disk IO.

04. Completion and reporting

• Conducted a demo for the customer app team to login to the servers and work out the load balancing mechanism for the application tier.

• Collected metrics and conducted extensive system testing.

• Summarized the findings and made recommendations for production deployment.

Various ways to use multi cloud

Diversify your risk by building applications and services that can be shifted between multiple cloud providers or private infrastructure automatically as a service fails.

Build Disaster recovery in secondary cloud provider

Backup in secondary cloud

Logically abstraction layers can be created. But it has challenges

here are two main approaches to creating abstraction layers across multiple clouds:

Resource abstraction

Resource abstraction creates a layer above your cloud resources and providers to make them appear as a single resource or host. This can be done by using a cloud management platform (CMP) or a cloud orchestration tool. A CMP provides a single pane of glass for managing resources across multiple clouds, while a cloud orchestration tool automates the deployment, management, and scaling of applications across multiple clouds.

Orchestration-based abstraction

Orchestration-based abstraction makes any differences in software or hardware combinations across the multi-cloud environment insignificant -- as long as your application lifecycle processes can operate the same way on every host. This can be done by using a cloud-native application platform (CAP) or a cloud-native development platform (CDP). A CAP provides a set of tools and services for building, deploying, and managing cloud-native applications, while a CDP provides a set of tools and services for the entire software development lifecycle, from development to deployment to operations.

The best approach to abstraction for multi-cloud depends on your overall IT infrastructure and strategy, as well as the nature of your cloud applications. If you have a complex IT infrastructure with a variety of different cloud providers, then resource abstraction may be the best approach. If you have a simpler IT infrastructure with a few cloud providers, then orchestration-based abstraction may be the best approach.

Here are some of the benefits of using abstraction layers across multiple clouds:

• Reduced complexity: Abstraction layers can help to reduce the complexity of managing multiple clouds by providing a single point of control for resources and applications.

• Increased agility: Abstraction layers can help to increase agility by making it easier to deploy, manage, and scale applications across multiple clouds.

• Improved cost control: Abstraction layers can help to improve cost control by providing visibility into resource usage and costs across multiple clouds.

• Enhanced security: Abstraction layers can help to enhance security by providing a single point of control for security policies and enforcement across multiple clouds.

Here are some of the challenges of using abstraction layers across multiple clouds:

• Vendor lock-in: Some abstraction layer vendors may lock their customers into their platform, making it difficult or impossible to move to a different vendor in the future.

• Performance: Abstraction layers can add overhead, which can impact the performance of applications running on multiple clouds.

• Complexity: Abstraction layers can add complexity to the IT environment, which can make it more difficult to manage.

Overall, abstraction layers can be a valuable tool for managing multiple clouds. However, it is important to weigh the benefits and challenges of using abstraction layers before making a decision.