Four traps in the multi-cloud to avoid

The popularity of the multi-cloud strategy grows, but its implementation requires precious planning. Otherwise, an organization could end up in an expensive, fragmented environment where cloud components work against each other.

So, how to combine the advantages of two or three cloud providers and avoid potential pitfalls? Here is some advice that hopefully will help in risk mitigation.

1. Shadow IT

Shadow cloud deployment stands for cloud services adoption without IT department approval. This tendency has gained traction during the pandemic as team members tried to optimize the new work-from-home mode themselves. Shadow IT deployments can put an organization’s assets at risk and create all sorts of vulnerabilities. The situation is made worse because the IT department didn’t know about it until too late. Educating employees about digital and data hygiene alongside cloud security basics will help to avoid uncontrolled security issues.

2. Cost optimization.

Managing costs is an essential part of any multi-cloud strategy that helps to avoid spending too much on services that cost less supplied by a different provider, before investing in a cloud platform, research and compare proposals and find an option that suits you the best. Without clear visibility and wise strategic planning, an organization can end up in a costly environment full of duplicate data and security risks.

3. Access management.

Compliance can be a complicated issue in a multi-cloud environment. The major cloud providers, such as AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, and GCP (Google Cloud Platform), have different approaches and tools for identity and access management. Companies that choose a multi-cloud strategy need to explore providers’ systems they use and adapt to them. They also need to be able to manage them without any assistance. This requirement isn’t a deal-breaker, but it does require knowledge, skills, and planning.

4. Cloud backup

A multi-cloud strategy allows maintaining business continuity more effectively. Many organizations back up one cloud platform with another. However, organizations should be careful when implementing disaster recovery safeguards in a multi-cloud environment because it may require a different architecture for each platform and could turn out to be a serious tech challenge.