Cloud technologies, cloud-native, multi-cloud – you most likely have heard these terms a lot lately. Everyone is talking about the cloud as if enterprises cannot manage without cloud technologies, and they are right. Business and operating models have evolved with digital products and services driving new digital experiences for customers. According to Gartner analysts, more than 85% of organizations will adopt a cloud-first principle by 2025 and will not be able to fully execute their digital strategies without cloud-native architectures and technologies.
How do enterprises adopt cloud technologies? What are the biggest trends that enterprises need to consider with cloud technologies? Let’s dive deeper.
1. Distributed Cloud
Imagine that a typical enterprise data center is a house built on a couple of acres – a colonial-style family house – big, but old-fashioned. You’re interested in buying another house, but instead of buying an expensive new house, you buy a small hi-tech mobile home. With this mobile home, you can locate it wherever needed while leveraging the latest technologies and advancements of the mobile home without moving out from your old house.
In this analogy, the super-modern mobile home is the distributed cloud – cloud services offered by a cloud services provider that may run in various locations, including the user’s on-premises data center. The reason the cloud providers offer this type of service is that some enterprises can’t afford to move to the cloud due to regulatory, compliance or financial reasons.
2. Multi-Cloud & Hybrid Cloud
In a multi-cloud environment, an organization utilizes multiple public cloud services usually from different cloud providers. This strategy allows organizations to choose providers for specific services based on which provider is offering the lowest price or the best service package at that time.
The only difference between multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies is that the latter always includes a private cloud which is typically managed as one entity. Multi-clouds typically do not include a private cloud component. In the cases where they do, they can be both multi-cloud and hybrid cloud.
3. Cloud-to-Cloud Migration
Cloud Services is an incredibly attractive business. Once an enterprise becomes a client, they make recurring payments leading to recurring revenue for the cloud services provider. This is why many cloud providers target enterprises to help them onboard their applications into the cloud while also investing in building new service offerings. Doing so enables cloud providers to continuously provide their clients (and potential clients) with timely, and relevant support. Not all cloud providers are the same. Do your research and find the one that best suits your business needs.
4. Cloud Center of Innovation
Cloud adoption journeys need to be thoroughly planned. Having a Cloud Center of Innovation (COI) or Cloud Center of Excellence ensures that your organization’s cloud adoption is successful. It will bring all cloud migration best practices together and evangelize them across multiple business units so that the journey goes smoothly and painlessly.
5. Cloud Cost Optimization
Reducing costs is one of the main objectives of any enterprise, and it is good to know that cloud costs can be optimized. Cloud Cost Optimization includes practices from simple business management to complex scientific and engineering areas like operations research, the science of decision-making and analytics, and modeling and forecasting.
6. Cloud-Native Services
Cloud-native architecture and technologies are an approach to building and running applications taking full advantage of the cloud computing model. By going cloud-native, enterprises can exploit microservices and serverless computing and move from a monolithic architecture towards a modular and open one. Organizations prefer the serverless and cloud-native types of architecture, so they don’t have to manage cloud instances or servers.
7. Cloud Security
Moving to the cloud raises a lot of questions about security. Therefore, enterprises should consider a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) to provide security between the on-premises data center and Software-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service offerings. Enterprises should also implement Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) to ensure that the infrastructure is secured during the cloud migration journey. Services such as Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) and Security Access Service Edge (SASE) can help ensure the workload is fully protected on the encryption and monitoring levels.
Embarking on a Cloud Journey
Cloud adoption is critical for enterprises as operating models have evolved with digital products. However cloud adoption is complex with many considerations for implementation. Having the right partner can remove complexity. With more than 25 years of experience in managed cloud and infrastructure services, Orion can devise and implement your cloud strategy using our “operate and transform” approach. Contact us to receive a consultation on your cloud migration journey. To learn more about Orion’s Cloud and Infrastructure services, explore our website.
