intelligent
// EDITOR ’ S QUESTION ?
MARTIN HOSKEN , CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST , CLOUD , VMWARE , EMEA
O rganisations trying to change the status quo in the business world are doing so by accelerating innovation via software in two or more clouds – aka going multi-cloud . They need faster time-tovalue as they migrate their applications to the cloud . However , they are often challenged by infrastructure incompatibility between the various existing clouds or nurturing the right skillset for managing each cloud environment . Eighty-seven percent of enterprises now use two or more clouds , and doing so without a multi-cloud strategy puts them at risk of remaining stagnant in a state we call , ‘ cloud chaos ’. When cloud choice becomes too great , managing that portfolio across disparate clouds becomes difficult and costly , leading to siloed operations and trade-offs between developer velocity and IT control . In turn , this can produce repercussions on the business , from spiralling costs to weaker competitiveness .
These organisations are waking up to the fact that successfully re-platforming the enterprise cannot be done without building a ‘ cloud smart ’ architecture . In essence , an approach that ’ s able to drive a consistent , secure and cost-efficient operating model across various clouds . One that enables teams to select the right cloud for the right application based on its need .
The desired destination of every multi-cloud journey is cloud smart , but how do you make that strategy successful ?
Firstly , ask yourself , what are your application needs ? Not to mention the technical and business requirements . Once you understand the motivations for adopting a multi-cloud strategy , whether that ’ s driving IT efficiency or lowering overall infrastructure costs , you can plan which cloud services will best fit . It ’ s then essential to consider your existing applications and if they already reside in a cloud provider , as well as the overall relationship with the existing cloud provider portfolio and how / if each provider maps to current and anticipated needs .
‘ Knowing the why ’ of multi-cloud should underpin all that follows . Remaining vigilant of how governance costs can grow with the addition of each cloud and factoring in the added complexity is also crucial to success . While management tools can mitigate some complexity , new skills are needed to manage and take advantage of the benefits of a multicloud environment . These skills can come from training existing teams , external hiring or leveraging integration partners and are key to measuring success , whether that ’ s through return on investment or reduced cost of IT ownership .
As development , DevOps and deployment times all accelerate , teams should also be actively embracing modernisation and thinking outside the box . Transitioning from cloud chaos to a stronger position as a cloud-smart organisation is not a linear process . But you should be using sophisticated , cloud-native operations to innovate and ultimately produce better employee and customer engagement to return on the investment made . When powered by a consistent operating model , a multi-cloud architecture can become the foundation of any digital-smart , innovation-led business . �
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WHEN CLOUD CHOICE BECOMES TOO GREAT , MANAGING THAT PORTFOLIO ACROSS DISPARATE CLOUDS BECOMES DIFFICULT AND COSTLY .
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