While enterprise cloud deployments continue at pace, it is also clear that organizations are finding a simple ‘one cloud fits all’ approach that does not meet their business needs. But managing multiple providers in a single environment poses distinct challenges.
Most companies now use a variety of public clouds to meet their needs. Organizations have been increasingly moving data and applications to the cloud for the past several years. This trend has seen a significant boost since the coronavirus pandemic triggered a rise in e-commerce activities and remote work.
Recent research from IDG noted that cloud platforms play a crucial role in helping businesses respond to the crisis, as they provide necessary work-from-home tools and operational resiliency. IDG’s survey of 551 IT leaders found that more than half use multiple public cloud services today, while 21 percent said they use three or more cloud services.
Read More: 2021: Top Trends to Watch Out For
However, managing and operating an environment supported by multiple cloud providers and services comes with its own distinct set of challenges. Business and IT leaders need to address these hurdles to help their companies succeed in this multi-cloud world.
One major challenge that organizations face while using cloud infrastructure is getting locked into a service. Businesses expect the freedom of portability that lets them migrate in and out of the cloud without any hindrances. The desire to collaborate with cloud service providers dampens when that is not possible due to lock-in periods and other similar issues.
Multi Cloud service providers must have the ability to integrate cloud computing requirements of their clients with their on-premise IT operations in a seamless fashion. This is especially important since many organizations are sometimes unable to continue their operations within the cloud and their on-premise operations separately, for a variety of reasons.
For organizations, keeping their data safe and secure is one of the biggest priorities. Back in the day, organizations used corporate firewalls to keep their data safe and secure. With cloud migration becoming an increasingly widespread practice, the challenge of keeping the data safe makes enterprises extremely cautious.
There are many ways to mitigate these challenges. Implementing security applications, data loss software, and encrypted file systems to prevent attacks on cloud infrastructures is one. There needs to be a tight security protection protocol that includes training the internal IT staff and the employees on security issues.
Read More: What Will 2021 Hold In Store For Edge Computing?
Cloud service providers must take stringent measures and reassure their clients of their data security by preventing malicious activities that could compromise their systems.
Managing costs is another big challenge that organizations face. Moving to the cloud can result in various known and sometimes unforeseen costs. Although cloud computing is often cost-effective in the long run, initially, the move can be expensive. Using the cloud can be cost-effective in the long run, but the move can be expensive initially if the potential financial impact is not well planned.
Organizations can tackle this issue by preparing a cost estimate budget right from the beginning. They can optimize costs by automating policies for governance and with management reporting practice to decrease the cost issues in cloud computing.
Using a multi-cloud set-up brings in a variety of complexities that the IT teams have to deal with. The best way to overcome this cloud challenge is by utilization of proper tools, such as automation, cloud cost management solutions, auto-scaling features, and tools that can help manage a multi-cloud environment efficiently and effectively.
Read More: Focus areas for CIOs in 2021
The success of any cloud project is dependent on a continued effort by the organization to consistently address all the challenges ranging from technological concerns to regulatory ones.
To overcome cloud-related challenges, it is crucial that businesses take a strategic approach to implementation, collaborate with business and IT teams, explore hybrid cloud solutions, and choose the right cloud service partner.
Prangya Pandab is an Associate Editor with OnDot Media. She is a seasoned journalist with almost seven years of experience in the business news sector. Before joining ODM, she was a journalist with CNBC-TV18 for four years. She also had a brief stint with an infrastructure finance company working for their communications and branding vertical.
