The hybrid cloud infrastructure gives you a better control over sensitive data and boosts the performance of your applications. It also integrates with legacy systems. On top of that, having multiple cloud providers saves you from vendor lock-in, is easier to maintain, and gives your organization faster access to innovations.
Organizations tempted by these benefits need to be prepared to deal with the complexity of managing multiple vendors or the high initial costs of equipment necessary for hybrid infrastructure. Despite these drawbacks, both hybrid and multi-cloud approaches are popular among different types of organizations. Read on to discover why.
The multi-cloud approach diversifies your organization’s adoption of public cloud providers.
Instead of relying on a single vendor, your digital resources are split and held on multiple clouds independently.
To become beneficial, the use of a multi-cloud approach must be intentional. If you divide your digital resources on multiple platforms due to poor management, you will increase the complexity of your infrastructure and generate additional costs. Having a strategy is essential.
Instead of relying on cloud providers, some organizations prefer to keep their data close. They set up and maintain servers where they store a part of their data and applications. It’s a strategy called the on-premise infrastructure, or “on-prem”.
The hybrid cloud is a blend of a single cloud service and on-premise infrastructure, where workloads are distributed between physical servers and cloud-based environments. If implemented properly, it provides an organization with a blend of the benefits of both cloud and on-premises solutions.
Below you will find a comparison of benefits and other reasons why many organizations use the hybrid cloud and multi-cloud approach. The following part of this article will explain in detail some of the most common benefits.
| | Multi-cloud approach | Hybrid cloud |
| Flexibility and Scalability | Allows companies to combine services from different cloud providers | Allows for smooth workload transitions and scalability based on demand. |
| Vendor lock-in | Prevents vendor lock-in by distributing workloads across multiple clouds. | May involve some degree of vendor lock-in. |
| Cost optimization | Takes advantage of competitive pricing between cloud providers. | Optimizes costs by running stable, predictable workloads on-premises. |
| Security and Compliance | Selecting cloud providers that align with specific regulatory requirements. | Sensitive data can be kept on-premises or within a private cloud. |
| Performance | Optimizes performance by choosing the appropriate cloud service for a particular task. | Can improve performance by allowing data and applications to reside on local infrastructure. |
| Risk mitigation and business continuity | Risk is spread across multiple clouds. | Enables a diversified approach to disaster recovery by allowing for flexible recovery options. |
| Innovation and speed to market | Immediate access to the latest services and innovations from multiple providers. | Can be slower to adopt new technologies compared to multi-cloud. |
Easier maintenance, reduced costs, and enhanced flexibility are the primary benefits of the multi-cloud approach. However, for many businesses, the incentives are more specific than that. Below, we have named 5 most common reasons why so many organizations use the multi-cloud approach.
Compared to on-prem, cloud-based infrastructures are easier to maintain by the IT department
Many cloud providers share common best practices and offer services like managed SQL databases or Kubernetes clusters. It seems natural to use the most fitting services for a business and engage in a multi-cloud approach. Despite the advantages, a multi-cloud approach is more demanding in terms of maintenance, than having a single-cloud provider.
Let’s break it down.
Every cloud service has its own implementation details and ecosystem of tooling to interact with. Engineers and operational teams that work in multi-cloud environments need specific skills for each cloud provider to be effective and to configure resources securely.
However, any cloud-based approach will be easier to maintain than running an on-premise infrastructure.
The level of maintenance depends on the type of cloud service. For example, managed cloud services require minimal operation effort, but self-hosted services on Virtual Machines need hands-on experience.
Therefore, startups, with more general-skills-oriented software teams, can leverage the cloud and its features just as well as big organizations with specialized teams.
Increased flexibility in matching workload with the appropriate environment
Different applications and digital products have their requirements regarding cloud service. For example, their workload may differ in terms of technology and accessibility standards. Meeting these requirements is easier with multiple cloud providers. It gives the organization a wider pool of options for managing its workload and allows it to take advantage of the strengths of different providers.
With multiple clouds, you can pick and choose services based on their performance, features, and cost, tailoring to your organization’s specific needs.
For best results, VirtusLab's advice would be to partner up with major cloud providers. They offer a wider range of services than their small and medium-sized competitors, which in most cases are still developing.
For example, you might use Google Cloud Platform's AlloyDB for its robust SQL capabilities tailored to analytics, while leveraging Amazon Web Services for its high-performance computing power ideal for running applications. A combination like that is only possible when your multi-cloud infrastructure relies on major providers only.
Better compliance with different privacy policies
Being tied to a single vendor can clash with your client's internal policies. Due to privacy concerns, some organizations have a list of cloud providers they want to avoid. For example, businesses in Germany refrain from using Google's services due to GDPR and privacy concerns, which was supported by official court ruling.
In this case, if your business operates in the B2B sector and has a global reach, adopting a multi-cloud approach allows you to comply with clients bound by specific regional policies.
Ability to better answer specific business needs
From the business perspective, having a multiple-cloud approach widens the range of your services.
For example: if your B2B client has expertise only in Azure, their policy will require that every provider/application will use it too. With a multi-cloud approach, you’ll be able to accommodate that. Even if your product was originally native to the Google Cloud Platform, you’ll extend it to Azure and comply with the client’s request.
Protection from vendor lock-in
One of the reasons why so many organizations use the multi-cloud approach is protection from vendor lock-in. Having a choice of cloud providers saves your business from depending on a single provider. When the cost of switching to a different vendor is too high you are essentially stuck with the original one. In other words, you are in a so-called vendor lock-in.
There are other benefits to having multiple cloud providers can be good. In case of security concerns, poor performance, or price hikes you can move part of your workload from one cloud provider to another. As a result, your digital products and applications become cloud-agnostic, meaning they will work with any provider.
The reasons why so many big organizations use the hybrid cloud approach will be different for each business. For example, for a startup, it will mean saving costs in the long run.
Even though using the cloud is popular, there are also some really good reasons to consider adding on-premises infrastructure. Here are the main benefits of switching to a hybrid cloud for startups as well as for large organizations.
The increased geographic reach of services
Public clouds typically have a global network of data centers. Large companies can use cloud resources to serve customers in different geographic locations while keeping certain critical applications close to their on-premises infrastructure.
Ability to scale flexibly
Hybrid clouds allow organizations to scale their IT resources up or down, depending on demand. For example, they can burst workloads, meaning they can use the public cloud to borrow computing resources when needed. This process has the additional benefit of keeping critical and sensitive data on-premises or in a private cloud.
Better control of the organization’s own data
Having physical servers on-site gives you direct control over the level of security of your data. On-site architecture lets you choose the software, encryption levels, security protocols, and staff training. Also, some clients can request to keep their sensitive data in a private space, for example, due to international regulatory standards. For a startup, this could mean attracting new, long-term partnerships and clients.
Similarly, banks, healthcare, and manufacturing companies have their own privacy regulations like GDPR, HIPPA, and GDATA. There is a growing trend among these industries to move to on-prem as a way to maintain the security of sensitive information and keep up with the regulations.
Improvements in performance and latency
Due to proximity, your data will travel faster within on-premise infrastructure than it would from a cloud. This can contribute to better performance and lower latency.
Improved cost-effectiveness
If you run a startup that is in its growing stage, your demand for computing resources becomes substantial and predictable. A strategic investment in on-premise infrastructure can bring significant savings in the long run. For example, by using Dell Servers worth just about 600K$, a company named 37signals is expecting to save 7M$ over 5 years.
However, “just” switching to on-premise infrastructure might not going to bring you any significant savings right away. The on-premise infrastructure requires a proper configuration to be cost-effective. A good practice is to have trained experts look at your architecture as a whole. They will recommend an optimal configuration and will identify opportunities for reducing expenses.
The financial savings of having an on-premise infrastructure are a broad subject, which we've covered in another article, focusing on cloud repatriation. Check it out!
Depending on the type of organization, hybrid and multi-cloud approaches can bring better security, financial savings, and improved performance. While these benefits can be tempting, the transition requires preparation of infrastructure and specialist knowledge.
With that in mind, the answer to the question “Why do many organizations use the hybrid and multi-cloud approach?” is simply: it depends.
Each organization will choose the infrastructure based on its own requirements. Startups may look for scalability, while big organizations are motivated by compliance with international policies.
Whatever your needs are, consulting them with industry experts is always a good idea. They will help you find the right approach and suggest a strategy fitting to your organization.
