Follow the multicloud road: a step-by-step guide for medium businesses

By: Adel Elansary, Senior Regional Pre-Sales Manager, Egypt, Libya & Levant, Dell Technologies

Over the past decade, cloud offerings have evolved significantly, transforming the way medium-sized businesses (MBs) operate. Cloud computing has made it possible for MBs to access enterprise-level technology and infrastructure without the high costs traditionally associated with it. In the first few years of cloud computing, cost savings was the driving reason for adopting the cloud. Nowadays, however, businesses are faced with spiralling cloud costs – as data volumes increase, the cost savings evaporate and cloud cost management increases.

To unlock the full potential of multicloud without being constrained by siloed ecosystems, MBs should adopt a multicloud by design approach. This entails leveraging different cloud service providers (CSPs) for specific needs, such as hosting SAP, containers, and disaster recovery services.

Benefits of a multicloud strategy include improved IT infrastructure efficiency, greater flexibility, enhanced time to market, and better performance. Implementing a successful multicloud journey involves three phases:

Phase 1: Goals and Assessment Define clear goals for moving to multicloud, such as reducing IT costs, improving compliance, and increasing competitiveness. Assess the current application landscape using the 6 Rs framework – Rehosting, Replatforming, Refactoring, Repurchasing, Retire, and Retain – to determine the right actions to achieve your goals.

Phase 2: Requirements and Architecture Design Identify technical requirements that align with business goals. Map these requirements back to the cloud deployment type, such as infrastructure-as-a-service. Design a multicloud architecture that allows workloads to run on the most suitable cloud service, optimizing efficiency and reducing costs.

Phase 3: Getting people on-board and on-track Prepare the business for change by adopting a service-orientated framework. Shift from an IT-centric to a customer-focused approach, break down silos to create cross-functional teams, and transition from reactive to proactive operations. This includes embracing automation, monitoring, and optimization strategies.

By following this structured approach, MBs can effectively manage cloud costs and harness the full potential of multicloud.

In conclusion, cloud computing has revolutionized the way medium-sized businesses operate, providing access to enterprise-level technology at affordable costs. However, as data volumes grow, managing cloud costs becomes increasingly important. A multicloud approach offers a solution by streamlining IT operations and leveraging the strengths of multiple cloud providers. By following a structured multicloud journey, businesses can improve infrastructure efficiency, flexibility, time to market, and overall performance. It is crucial for businesses to set clear goals, assess their application landscape, define technical requirements, and adopt a service-orientated framework to successfully navigate the multicloud landscape.