It was only a few years ago that the tech industry was abuzz with the idea that organizations would move entirely to the public cloud. Not only has that prediction failed to come to fruition, but a hybrid, multicloud approach is becoming increasingly popular as time goes on.
According to F5’s State of Application Strategy (SOAS) report, nearly 90% of organizations are operating in hybrid deployment models. This means apps and APIs span public and private clouds, edge sites, on-premises data centers, and beyond—with more than one-third (38%) operating apps deployed in six different models. Considering only 18% used even five models as recently as 2020, the trend towards this new normal is accelerating with apps more widely distributed than ever before.
The data shows small and large enterprises alike are using a range of deployment models. So, why are organizations of all sizes choosing to operate their apps and APIs across such a highly complex and distributed IT landscape? The answer is simple: the advantages outweigh the potential drawbacks.
Here are six benefits to deploying a hybrid, multicloud approach:
1. Reducing overall cloud spend
Each workload is different. The most cost-effective cloud provider for one may not be for another. A hybrid, multicloud strategy gives organizations the flexibility to choose the best platform or cloud for each application or workload. For example. a static legacy application would gain little to no economic benefits from a lift-and-shift to the cloud, while a modern web application that needs to dynamically scale in and out based on traffic patterns is ideally suited for a public cloud.
Organizations can take advantage of competing pricing models and cost structures amongst providers to optimize return on investment (ROI). The hybrid, multicloud approach also helps avoid the inherent overhead cost of maintaining all their own infrastructure, which has to be dimensioned to deal with peak moments and traffic bursts.
2. Remaining compliant with regulations
As organizations scale, so do their workloads. Hybrid, multicloud deployments help organizations address data sovereignty across different regions and comply with specific regulations like GDPR and state-specific laws as they evolve. Plus, many regulations insist that organizations attempt to reduce risk around data. Where appropriate, data can be stored on a private cloud provider on-premises, while less-sensitive data can live in the public cloud.
3. Matching application needs with the right cloud
Not all cloud services are created equal. Some excel at certain tasks while others might be better suited for different types of workloads.
By spreading their workloads across multiple clouds, organizations can avoid becoming overly dependent on a single cloud provider. A case-by-case approach allows the flexibility to meet unique business requirements, such as switching if their current provider does not support specific features and match each workload with the best service for the job.
4. Improving resilience and disaster recovery
They say you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. That applies in the world of applications and data where natural or human-made disasters, cyberattacks, outages, and human errors are a threat to business continuity and downtime.
A hybrid, multicloud approach can improve resilience and disaster recovery by distributing applications and data across multiple locations. Deploying backup providers can mitigate issues should disaster strike. For example, if one provider goes down, the workload can be shifted to another, minimizing downtime and data loss.
5. Supporting mergers and acquisitions
When companies merge or acquire other businesses, they often need to integrate disparate IT systems. This could be an extreme, where Company A operates everything on-premises and Company B does everything in the cloud. Or it could simply mean different cloud providers are used.
Embracing a hybrid, multicloud strategy rather than “picking sides” can make this transition stage easier by providing a way to consolidate and assimilate without having to rip up everything and start again.
6. Facilitating AI application deployment
Organizations are seeking to implement artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) at unprecedented rates to harness greater insights, leverage innovation, and optimize efficiency. But AI is evolving at a rapid rate, too.
Harnessing a hybrid, multicloud approach means greater flexibility and freedom for organizations to adapt to emerging trends and seek out providers that offer the best AI technologies available.
The emergence of AI is also feeding into today’s hybrid, multicloud environment, largely because AI workloads are typically decomposed into multiple parts and need to be deployed as close to the data they require as possible. This means data is being dispersed across different environments, with 80% of organizations maintaining AI apps in the public cloud and 54% on premises to maximize accuracy, cost efficiency, insights, performance, and security.
Navigating the new normal
While a hybrid multicloud environment is complex, the benefits it offers in terms of cost savings, flexibility, resilience, and access to advanced technologies make it an attractive option for the majority of organizations.
The right application security and delivery tools will help organizations transcend the complexity to securely enjoy the many benefits of distributed deployments and tap into an architecture that is required for growth moving forward.
Want to start creating your own hybrid, multicloud approach? Read our eBook: Secure Multicloud Networking for Dummies.
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