48% of leading IT decision-makers intend to begin a cloud migration project in the next six months. Cloud migration is undeniably emerging as a key strategy for many leading businesses, in a bid to optimise their application security, flexibility and resilience. This is particularly true now that businesses seek to respond to the global pandemic, and for many organisations speed of implementation is crucial.
Within this collective migration to the cloud, however, lies an important trend: the adoption of multi-cloud architecture. A multi-cloud approach enables businesses to separate their data flows and critical functions into different components across multiple clouds, provided by a range of suppliers. In a recent Gartner survey of public cloud users, 81% of respondents said they are working with two or more providers. The use of multiple clouds allows businesses to tackle cloud migrations in a more digestible manner, rather than a ‘big bang’ approach.
Our 2020 cloud survey has revealed that of those businesses who have already coordinated cloud into their architecture, a staggering 86% of them have adopted a multi-cloud approach. But what key benefits have driven this trend?
Less risk
The predominant reason that businesses are moving to multi-cloud environments is fuelled by a concern for security and risk. In the event that a Cloud Service Provider (CSP) is compromised, having a multi-cloud environment ensures the components in other clouds remain unscathed. IT departments can then shift their compromised workload to another environment.
Opportunity for negotiation with multiple suppliers
Multi-cloud environments will typically require multiple suppliers, which means there is an opportunity for negotiation across the supplier base. This results in financial benefits, flexibility and resilience.
Compliance
A key benefit of multi-cloud lies in its ability to comply with regulations that vary across geographical locations, such as GDPR. By utilising multiple clouds, your business processes are able to better adjust to hosting location, geographical and data requirements – a key success factor.
Application dependency
At the application level, best in breed cloud-based solutions may be required or specified by the business in key functional areas (e.g. CRM or supply chain) and this will often drive multi-cloud strategies throughout the technology stack.
Speed
A multi-cloud approach potentially increases the speed in which projects are completed; by compartmentalising your critical functions, projects are divided into manageable components and show success more quickly compared to a single cloud system.
As a result of these advantages, multi-cloud is helping to accelerate cloud migration. Private multi-cloud connectivity offers an optimal environment for this, ranging from GDPR compliance, faster performance and a better experience for employees and customers.
However, multi-cloud environments are not without their challenges. The importance of connectivity between suppliers is crucial, and a staggering 88% of businesses have enabled their multi-cloud strategy with a private connection. By combining a multi-cloud system with private connectivity, businesses harness the benefits of multi-cloud flexibility with enhanced security and faster performance.
SD WAN multi-cloud solutions allow businesses to effectively manage what can be a complex landscape, providing enhanced visibility and resilience and help with some of the challenges of a multi cloud environment. Connectivity is an integral part of any multi-cloud initiative; read our recent survey to learn more about the 2020 trends in cloud migration, or contact us today.
Want to learn more? We also recommend:
- Our website to find out more about our cloud connect solution (Colt Dedicated Cloud Access)
- Our new guide to discover how you can unlock the true value of cloud migration
- Our 2020 report to read more about this year’s trends in cloud migration
- Our recent whitepaper with Oracle and Frost & Sullivan on how to make your network built for change
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