Creating an effective multicloud strategy

Cloud computing has become an invaluable tool for businesses all over the world. The flexibility it grants employees, the accessibility it enables for applications and resources, and the security it ensures for businesses have made it nothing short of a game changer. But even greater benefits await in adopting a multicloud approach, if done with an appropriate strategy.

A multicloud approach simply means utilizing and deploying multiple clouds, as opposed to a single one. This approach magnifies many of the benefits of cloud computing but comes with its own set of challenges and difficulties. Not to worry as Online Computers can guide you through this process and ensure you get the most of your multicloud setup.

Here are some of the key things to keep in mind:

A purpose for every cloud

The first thing you need to assess is what reasons your business has for adopting a multicloud approach. It isn’t prudent or financially viable to deploy multiple clouds just for the sake of it. So think about the purpose each cloud is supposed to serve. Is one cloud to service all your data storage needs, while the other one is for project development? Perhaps the clouds are to be divided between autonomous business verticals, for example, one for product A and another for product B?

Even so, not every function or business unit needs to have its own cloud environment. Whether it’s due to size limitations, efficiency, or security, determine in what ways your business would benefit from the existence of each hypothetical cloud environment, and build your strategy around this.

A migration plan

Having separate cloud environments means losing the consolidation features of a single cloud. While this might still be beneficial to your business, the transfer of data between your disparate cloud environments will be neither quick nor easy.

As such, it’s important to prepare in advance for such occasions. Begin with a thorough audit of which data needs to be transferred between clouds. Then, assess how long such a process would take, and identify key progress checkpoints. This way, you can build an effective operational strategy for your business, accounting for the delays and inconveniences relating to intercloud data migration. You can do this by conducting thorough testing via the transfer of mock data.

Preventing vendor lock-in

One of the risks inherent in using cloud environments is vendor lock-in, in which a business becomes reliant on the cloud services of a single vendor. This is a risk in that the business’s processes and functions become excessively specialized to the point that a change in vendor, whether driven by necessity or efficiency, becomes difficult. Multicloud deployment, when employed effectively, can mitigate this risk.

Multicloud deployment also requires your business to effectively integrate the different cloud environments, even across vendors. This includes effective data migration strategies, but also designing projects with open data environments that are supported by each of your cloud environments. By doing this, you can cover your bases.

Backup and failsafe protocols

A multicloud approach has the same benefits as a diverse financial portfolio. If disaster strikes and any one component of your system gets compromised, you can rely on the other components to ensure that your business isn’t crippled. Thus, it helps to have mission-critical data saved on multiple cloud environments, so that it can be accessed even in the case of shutdowns and outages. For cloud-specific projects where real-time updates are not feasible or practical, ensure that backups are created at critical points and stored in multiple environments so they can be saved.

The experts at Online Computers can help small- and medium-sized businesses in Hanover, Morristown, Madison, and surrounding areas design a cloud strategy. Call us today.