If you're not sure what cloud computing is, it's essentially the delivery of computing services over the internet. That can include databases, networking, servers, storage, software, intelligence, or analytics.
Essentially, the goal is to provide flexible resources and economies of scale. One of the main ways to categorize the cloud is a public cloud and a private cloud. However, certain clouds fall between these categories: multi-cloud and hybrid clouds.
Most businesses can't restrict their data to be entirely public or private, so they opt for these in-between options. But, what's the difference between multi-cloud computing and hybrid cloud computing? How do you decide which one is right for your business?
We're here to answer all your cloud-related questions. So keep reading for a complete multi-cloud vs hybrid cloud comparison to determine which better accommodates your company needs.
Multi-Cloud Computing
The issue with cloud computing is that it's hard to find a cloud provider that accommodates your data just the way you like. As a result, your company data is either too private or too public. This is where multi-cloud computing comes to save the day.
Multi-cloud computing allows businesses to spread their data across two or more cloud platforms in combination. As a result, they can prevent issues like vendor lock-in and data breaches. Plus, this allows them to achieve data redundancy in a failover scenario.
So, if one of their cloud providers is suffering from an outage, businesses can still access their high-priority data on a second cloud provider.
Multi-cloud computing especially comes in handy for companies trying to meet regulatory requirements in countries with data-residency laws. As a result, they can run applications and store data in clouds located in specified geographic locations.
Hybrid Cloud Computing
Hybrid clouds are a combination of public and private clouds. For companies transferring all their data to the cloud for the first time, a hybrid cloud makes the transition easier. This way, they can migrate their data to the cloud without having to abandon their on-premise infrastructure immediately.
Companies in industries that require industry regulations to govern data security also benefit from hybrid clouds. For example, banking or any financial industry requires businesses to meet specific requirements for all aspects of company data.
That includes audits, network controls, oversight, and retention. Hybrid cloud computing allows banks to store sensitive and regulated data on a private cloud and low-risk data on a public cloud.
Since healthcare organizations collect hefty amounts of personally identifiable information (PII) from their patients, the industry requires them to meet Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations. Hybrid clouds aid with placing various security safeguards.
In addition, hybrid cloud computing also works for companies that deal with data-heavy workloads, such as entertainment and media. A hybrid cloud helps them access high-priority data quickly and store low-priority data while also enjoying scalability and cost-effectiveness.
Multi-Cloud vs Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid clouds always include private and public clouds, and they're both managed as one entity. On the other hand, it's the user's choice to include public and private clouds in their multi-cloud strategy.
Multi-cloud computing can even combine multiple public clouds or multiple private clouds. It overlaps with hybrid cloud computing when you combine the two different types of cloud.
Some departments in one organization may utilize the public cloud, while others opt for a private cloud strategy. They could also use different public clouds as part of an all-encompassing IT strategy.
That includes an on-premise, public infrastructure as a service (Iaas), and software as a service (SaaS) for a comprehensive and hybrid IT environment. As a result, that business is using multi-cloud unknowingly while using a hybrid cloud.
In this case, the hybrid cloud may utilize the on-premise database. Meanwhile, it also runs the application code on both the private cloud and cloud bursting on the public cloud. This helps when a product's demand increases beyond the in-house hardware's capabilities.
Regardless of the type of computing, more companies are migrating to the cloud than ever. This Gartner report tells us that new IT initiatives without a cloud-only strategy will require justification. That is for over 30% of all large-enterprise organizations. Moreover, over half of all tech-related companies will be opting for a cloud-only approach by 2021.
How to Choose the Right Cloud Deployment for Your Business
Here are a few factors to consider while picking the correct type of cloud computing for your business. Alternatively, you could utilise a cloud strategy to decisively plan your cloud transformation to fully realise the the benefits of what the cloud can offer.
Cost
Public clouds have less overhead and even lesser direct management when it comes to cost. Public cloud providers typically handle most responsibilities relating to maintaining a data centre. That includes applying security updates, provisioning servers, and more.
Businesses on a budget would be better suited with a public cloud strategy or a multi-cloud deployment.
Security
Hybrid clouds work best for businesses that have high regulatory requirements they must meet. This cloud strategy would allow them to keep sensitive data in a tightly controlled environment. But, that doesn't always ensure better security.
Certain public cloud providers have better security measures, such as applying patches and more.
Time and Effort
Of course, you must also consider the time and effort it takes to migrate all company data to a cloud platform. In some cases, a full-cloud migration might not even be necessary, in which case a hybrid strategy would suit them better.
Reliability
In times of high user demand, sticking to just one cloud can overwhelm the cloud. Multi-cloud strategies can help lessen the load and keep your applications running smoothly. So, it's essential to ensure that each cloud platform is reliable enough to act as a backup plan.
Vendor Lock-In
Multi-cloud computing prevents you from depending entirely on one cloud provider. In case of an outage, you may experience vendor lock-in, which can be reduced with Cloudflare. This software boosts any cloud platform's security, performance, and reliability.
Performance
Lastly, you must consider performance. Migrating company data to the cloud can boost performance by reducing latency if the public cloud hosts servers at the network edge.
Cloud-based Workflow Automation Software for Your Business
If you've read our multi-cloud vs hybrid cloud guide thoroughly, you've probably concluded which type of cloud computing works best for your business. Be it hybrid or multi-cloud, Tesseract is the ideal cloud-based workflow automation software to digitalise all your business operations. Stay ahead with the cloud using Tessaract, as we provide you with all the oversight and control required to optimally grow your company.