Solving the Multi Cloud Management Woes

By Raghav K.

Hybrid cloud has become more and more commonplace, but a multi-cloud infrastructure is still in its infancy. Multi-cloud has its share of complexities, but it has opened up gateways to deliver high value services. All you need is the right set of tools and management practices for your Multi-Cloud setup to deliver value to your solution.

Multi cloud is in its infancy. IT needs knowledge and skills for strategy and deliverance. Choosing the right technology stack and coupling the right cloud providers to complement your proposed solution is the most important and best practice.

This article focuses on solutions to solve Multi-Cloud management woes.

The Reality

Multi cloud setups present some complex issues while choosing a combination of public and private cloud services. Using more than one public cloud, private cloud, or any possible combination presents complex issues. As a decision-maker, you need to figure out ways to distant yourself from the complex issues and focus on the bigger picture.

Automation is your friend. It will help you manage and drive the operations of a multi-cloud infrastructure. These complex cloud architectures require monitoring and management, pushing most enterprises towards at least one public Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud and at least two Software as a Service (SaaS) configured cloud systems.

Alibaba Cloud co-aligns with most cloud providers in terms of services and managed infrastructure. Elastic Compute Service (ECS) and Object Storage Service (OSS) provide similar service patterns and related API-based services to make it easier to manage your multi cloud. However, some of the service attributes will vary and make matters complicated. It could be several factors, such as cost, service deployment, or infrastructure management.

Tools of the Trade

Multi cloud is a fairly new architecture. As a result, the tools are in their infancy. Most tools are derived from cloud infrastructure or hybrid cloud. However, most enterprises have very little experience using these tools, and it causes a great deal of confusion around Multi-Cloud Management.

Multi cloud infrastructures should not only be driven with tools. Any solution or practice implemented by another organization shouldn't be the model for your solution. Case studies should be referenced; just throwing tools into the mix is not the answer. On the other hand, while moving to a multi-cloud setup without the proper set of tools of the trade, is also not a recommended practice.

Considerations for Tool Selection

Managing and operating a single public cloud solution is easy. You don't need to worry about performance, operational costs, and seasoned tool sets to overcome complex issues. While working with a multi-cloud setup, things might not be so simple. Oversimplification can lead to fatal mistakes for your solution.

Deliverance

Focus on selecting a tool that doesn't take over your solution or choose a cloud partner in a multi-cloud setup that may change their service or operations without customer concern. Proper deliverance is necessary if you wish to extract value out of your solution.

Monitoring

Monitoring and collection of metrics is the most crucial bit with a Multi-Cloud setup. Delivery value can be achieved if you extract value from the solution. The collected metrics are the most effective way for the betterment of your solution.

Security

Security has to be one of the primary concerns while implementing any tools. Multi cloud management tools can pose security issues to your solution since the tools are in their infancy.

Best Practices

Let's move ahead and understand what practices you can implement to manage your multi-cloud setup effectively:

1. Monitoring

Monitoring your cloud services during peak load hours can help you determine the optimization of your system. Generating reports on process handling, key factors, defect ratio, SPOF, O&M are some of the most important metrics to collect and use for the future. It helps increase reliability and effectiveness and adds value to your solution. Eliminating or working on improving poor-performing services can help you with performance woes.

2. Infrastructure Provisioning

The elasticity of provisioning resources using tools that help with the allocation of cloud resources is the most important practice. Solutions, such as ECS, Auto Scaling, and server load balancer can help you maintain operations. Alibaba Cloud ROS can handle cloud resource orchestration and help meet the requirements of a business application.

3. Security and Authorization

Alibaba Cloud Security solutions and Identity and Access Management solutions can help you derive a reliable solution in a Multi-Cloud setup. Multi cloud repels total service loss, and Alibaba Cloud can make your life easier with Identity as a Service (IDaaS), Resource and Access Management (RAM), and security solutions.

4. Defined Structure

Before you can leverage a multi-cloud setup, define a structure for service implementation. Then, define the Multi-Cloud services, and ensure that you collect the service parameters beforehand.

Define what you expect from your service in terms of performance, operations, security, monitoring, and any other aspects you wish to include in your Multi-Cloud structure. Tool selection will depend on what and how you define the structure of your Multi-Cloud.

5. Testing

Multi-cloud environments require acceptance testing, and you need to work with automation practices for testing. Simulating your workloads for stress testing, composite service testing, and operational testing are a few concerning areas.

6. Operations

Successful multi cloud operations require a skillful team that can comprehend your custom solution, including multi-cloud management tools, security, monitoring tools, and your cloud-native tech. You can solve your multi-cloud woes related to operations by spending more time at the drafting table defining the structure.

In the End – What Matters?

Multi cloud is here to stay, as indicated by reports like this one from IDC – IDC expects 2021 to Be the Year of multi cloud as Global COVID-19 Pandemic Reaffirms Critical Need for Business Agility.

The use of the cloud is expanding, and enterprises are working their way towards Multi-Cloud environments. However, since Multi-Cloud setups are still fairly new, it might cause some management woes. Hopefully, the ideas mentioned above will help you solve any issues.

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Solving the Multi Cloud Management Woes

The Reality

Tools of the Trade

Considerations for Tool Selection

Deliverance

Monitoring

Security

Best Practices

In the End – What Matters?

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