What is a cloud?

In order to understand the concept of multicloud, one needs to first understand what cloud solutions are. A cloud refers to a collection of servers that can be accessed by cloud customers over the Internet. A cloud provider, which is a company that provides cloud services, is responsible for managing each cloud.

A Cloud-based solution (cloud) can be understood as an on-demand delivery of computing resources that helps companies to focus on their core business. These resources include software and applications, storage space, networks and other on-demand services. The Internet can be used to access such resources and/or these can be accessed through the shared cloud computing infrastructure of another provider.

Cloud-based solutions provide many benefits, such as increased scalability and functionality, reduction in cost related to computer infrastructure as well as elimination of the need to maintain and train an in-house IT staff.

Cloud technology is also used in cloud hosting, which is a type of web hosting service. Web hosting is provided by web hosting companies to website owners for the purpose of making their websites accessible over the Internet. Website hosting can be Windows-based or Linux-based and has many types, such as shared, dedicated, reseller, cloud, VPS, WordPress etc. “Linux Dedicated Server Hosting”, “Windows Shared Web Hosting” and “Linux Shared Hosting” are various terms that are used for website hosting.

Multicloud Deployment

Now that we know what a cloud is, let us expand our knowledge to encompass the concept of a multicloud. A multicloud solution involves the use of multiple public clouds. A public cloud is one that is shared by multiple clients. When a multicloud deployment is used by any organization, it procures multiple public clouds from more than a single cloud provider. In a multicloud configuration, a business uses the services of several vendors for cloud hosting, storage and for the full application stack. Most of the organizations that use the cloud solution eventually move to some sort of a multicloud deployment.

Multiple Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) vendors can be leveraged by a multicloud deployment. Such a deployment can use different vendors for Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service. A multicloud can either serve the purpose of system backup and redundancy or incorporate different cloud vendors for various services.

The Pros of Multicloud Strategy

There are many benefits of using a multicloud strategy. Reliability and/or redundancy are provided by a multicloud deployment. If one cloud is down, the other deployed clouds are still available to users. Additionally, one public cloud can serve as a backup to another cloud. The benefit of cost savings also come along with a multicloud. This is due to the fact that a multicloud provides the option to choose the most affordable vendors with regard to the services that are needed. Reduced vendor lock-in is another advantage of it. In a multicloud strategy, systems and storages are distributed across different vendors. This renders migration easier as most of the infrastructure remains intact during migration.

The Cons of Multicloud Strategy

A multicloud deployment involves interfacing with various vendors that have different technologies and processes. This makes its management complex. Since data is stored in multiple clouds and processes are running in various clouds, there is a lack of complete visibility into the technology stack. A multicloud strategy increases latency which is another disadvantage. It can also lead to a greater attack surface. This risk keeps increasing as the amount of integrated software and hardware increases. Last but not the least, performance might get affected adversely when it becomes challenging to balance loads across various clouds in a multicloud deployment.