5 Methods for Managing Multi-Cloud Complexity

As businesses grow, they may discover that they need to use multiple clouds to meet their growing needs. The term “multi-cloud” is used to describe how businesses use multiple clouds, both public and private, to meet different technical or business requirements. Multi-cloud environments inevitably come with certain complexities and challenges, so business owners must develop management strategies to tackle these obstacles.

Your multi-cloud strategy should address your business needs and lay a solid foundation for managing multiple cloud deployments. One of the best ways to set your company apart is by developing a proactive plan for managing multi-cloud environments. Outlined below are five methods for managing multi-cloud complexity.  

UNIFIED MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
Developing a unified management structure is essential for keeping pace with a spiraling number of cloud resources spread across multiple providers. Managing multiple clouds can be complex and require IT time, resources and tools to juggle and correlate the multiple infrastructure options.

It’s important to constantly evaluate the current state of your cloud resources and service configurations. It’s vital to manage the span of applications, clouds and users, regardless of where they are. Ensure you have the right solutions and infrastructure to manage and maintain multiple clouds. 

MANAGING DATA WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND MACHINE LEARNING (ML)
When administering massive amounts of data, artificial intelligence and machine learning can assist as you navigate through multi-cloud complexity. AI strives to mimic human decision-making processes and carry out tasks better than a human could. Machine learning is a branch of AI that is based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns and make decisions with minimal human intervention.

Because data is not always filtered properly, AI and ML can help identify the most valuable bits of data, therefore lessening the confusion associated with big data and multi-cloud complexity. AI and ML allow for simplicity and better data governance.      

SKILLSET MANAGEMENT
Multi-cloud complexities are intricate — operators must be knowledgeable and experienced. Do you have the right IT professionals on staff to manage the multi-cloud environment? If not, are you able to outsource the work to managed service providers or cloud service providers? This person(s) is responsible for educating the company on how each cloud deployment helps the business accomplish tasks. This professional must ensure all of the entities in your cloud environment are compatible with your various cloud tools.

SECURITY
Having a security strategy in place is necessary for anyone operating multiple clouds, and those security capabilities must be integrated seamlessly. Due to the fact that vendors have different policies and cybersecurity measures, there isn’t a single solution. However, storing data on more than one cloud deployment allows you to prevent loss of valuable information or projects.

Managing safety copies and backups of your data is critical. In addition, you must assess the security of your multi-cloud network on a regular basis. Just as infrastructure and software will change over time, so will the cyber threat environment. The ability to secure data and applications is essential to a successful multi-cloud strategy.

VISIBILITY
When it comes to managing multi-cloud complexity, visibility and transparency are integral. Visibility allows for the opportunity to identify vulnerabilities. For your business to be successful, you must know where business application components are running. Because cloud deployments function differently across environments, it’s important to monitor the health of your resources in the appropriate business context. This monitoring is necessary whether those resources are in public or private clouds.

The complexity of multi-cloud environments will continue to grow. No matter which form your cloud network takes, you’ll undoubtedly mix the technologies and services from multiple providers. Making sure your cloud strategy is designed for a multi-cloud world will help you capitalize on the ever-growing business and digital requirements impacting every industry.