Cross-cloud management can help enterprises achieve ubiquitous cloud computing with their multi-cloud strategy. While the public cloud is growing in leaps and bounds, many organizations are choosing to adopt a multi-cloud strategy. They have an on-premises deployment connected to several public clouds.
Adopting this strategy allows enterprises to avoid vendor lock-in. It also allows them to take advantage of the different services offered by major cloud providers. However, enterprises are unlikely to enjoy the true value of multi-cloud unless there’s cross-cloud compatibility. Cross-cloud management allows for secure data sharing across cloud providers and regions.
The Problem with Multi-Cloud That Necessitates Cross-Cloud Compatibility
Three major issues make multi-cloud deployments incomplete.
Cloud Silos
Each cloud provider has a unique offering with proprietary APIs for managing data. Copying or sharing data between providers is usually not straightforward. Even worse, it’s hard to find DevOps professionals who have the skillset to work in multiple clouds. The problem is you have separate clouds and have separate cloud teams working on them.
Geographical Location
Cloud services are usually most effective when users access them from close proximity. For this reason, enterprises that operate in multiple locations find that they’ve created data silos by region.
Data Portability
This is a huge problem for enterprises, even those that use open source technologies and open data formats. There’s no straightforward way to lift multiple petabytes of data to change clouds.
Cross-Cloud Management to the Rescue
For your multi-cloud deployment to be successful, you should be able to share and replicate data across clouds and locations. Cross-cloud capabilities can make this a reality for your organization. To achieve cross-cloud compatibility, you have to fulfill the following requirements:
- Have a cloud-agnostic layer that provides a unified data management platform. It should sit on top of all your clouds irrespective of the platform. Consequently, the data management platform provides identical functionality across all clouds. This allows for a seamless and cost-effective sharing of data.
- The data stored in your clouds should be able to move anywhere easily. Have a high-throughput communication channel that enables seamless data portability.
Cross-cloud compatibility allows organizations to securely share or move data across clouds and regions without going against the laid-out data access policies. This means the same rules of data sharing apply to everyone. It does not matter if someone is accessing the data locally or moving it across regions. In addition, it is possible to do asynchronous data replication across regions without affecting local access to data.
A well laid out cross-cloud management strategy removes barriers to data and allows organizations to:
- Analyze all data in real time for decision-making, irrespective of where the data is.
- Ensure business continuity and disaster recovery via cross-cloud replication.
- Carry out account migration devoid of data portability issues.
Conclusion
A unified data management platform that facilitates secure data sharing should carry out cross-cloud management. The platform gives the organization a single source of truth by allowing data to move freely across clouds. Cross-cloud compatibility drives operational efficiency in the multi-cloud.
