With global public cloud spending set to reach $678.8 billion this year, the rise of multi- and hybrid-cloud infrastructures is expected to accelerate.With public cloud service spending expected to reach $678.8billion globally this year, we can expect the popularity of multi- and hybrid cloud infrastructures to climb even higher in the coming months.
This news comes as little surprise. A multi-cloud infrastructure not only enables businesses to enjoy greater diversity among their cloud products and resources – as well as services tailored to their individual needs – but also drives innovation by supporting transformative technologies.
What Is Multi-Cloud?
Multi-cloud means utilising cloud services from more than one provider – such as Azure, Google, and AWS – within a single infrastructure. It can involve a combination of public and private clouds with the aim of managing and leveraging different workloads within the overall cloud strategy. When done right, a multi-cloud setup can reduce costs and minimise risk.
Benefits of Multi-Cloud
With 90% of large businesses having already adopted a multi-cloud infrastructure, a lot of technical teams out there are already reaping the benefits presented to them – which include…
Getting the best out of each cloud: Not only does a multi-cloud setup allow you to choose from a variety of vendors, but you can also match different features and capabilities to your business’ priorities. This can help you stay ahead of the curve and gain a marked advantage over your competitors.
Avoid vendor lock-in: Relying on only one provider comes with potential pitfalls, as you could be subject to vendor lock-in. If your single cloud provider increases their costs, then you’re stuck with higher outgoings and have limited flexibility for any negotiations, or to quickly switch to a more cost-effective alternative option.
Keeping up with innovation: With different providers keeping up with trends and pushing for innovative new solutions, a great benefit of having a multi-cloud strategy is that you aren’t limited to just one provider’s technological developments.
Better performance: Businesses using a multi-cloud approach can improve their performance by developing connections that improve user experience and response time. Additionally, all of the above points lead to cloud optimisation and staying on top of innovation, overall improving performance.
Set Yourself Up for Success
If those benefits sound tantalising to you, switching to a multi-cloud infrastructure could be best for you and your organisation. But before that, you’ll need to take some vital steps to set your business up for success and to get the most out of a setup.
Understand your current landscape: First of all, you will need to assess the current state of your cloud estate, understand what resources are being used, where costs are being wasted, and how your employees are working together. By doing this, you’ll get an understanding of what workloads are suitable for deployment, and what areas of improvement you have.
Ensure security is up to scratch: You’ll need to make sure that your security processes are strong enough to span multiple cloud vendors. Ask whether you have the correct security measures in place – including a Zero Trust framework, a tight Joiners, Movers, Leavers (JML) process, and organisation-wide multi-factor authentication. It’s even worth reviewing employee security training to ensure personal qualifications and capabilities are up to date.
Establish clear objectives: If you’re committed to taking this step, ensure that your teams are informed and on board. Define clear objectives and goals with measurable time frames and communicate these to your employees to pave the way forward, together.
Surveil and the Multi-Cloud
As the overwhelming demand for cross-cloud insights grows, Surveil has created a feature that provides informed insights into your spending across Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. Utilising the FinOps Open Cost Usage Specification (FOCUS), Surveil Multi-Cloud enables business relevance to your cloud expenditure data. With features such as cost visualization, smart tagging, and chargeback functionality, you can prepare to optimise spending and drive efficiency like never before. Surveil Multi-Cloud is Generally Available from Q1 2025.
To get started, get in touch today to see how Surveil can set you up for success.
