Editors note: This blog was updated December 2021 to reflect updated research
Enterprises are moving to the cloud. 67% of enterprise workloads run on public and private cloud implementations. Despite this trend to move to cloud, it will be rare for enterprises to deploy 100% of their apps in the cloud, let alone deploy all apps to a single cloud. A mix of on-premises and cloud deployments will be the norm in the foreseeable future.
Furthermore, applications and data sources moved to the cloud remain part of the larger enterprise ecosystem wherein they will require integration with other systems and processes, both in the cloud and on premises, and consequently cannot be siloed. Because of this, 85% of organizations see hybrid cloud as strategic and practical for their data and analytics platforms. A hybrid, multi-cloud strategy is the best approach to managing these distributed, heterogeneous data ecosystems.
Three key reasons why a hybrid, multi-cloud strategy is important for your organization:
- Data gravity
Data is born in many different environments; some is born in AWS, some in Azure, and some in the data center. It is more efficient for enterprises to process data as close to the source as possible. The larger the amount of data, the more applications, services and other data will be attracted to it and the more quickly they will be drawn. Consequently, it is advantageous for enterprises to use a single data management platform that can operate in all the environments where data originates to take advantage of data physics. A single data management platform across multiple cloud providers prevents lock-in and facilitates running differentiated workloads on suitable cloud platforms. An integrated suite of data management and analytics tools in a single platform enables cost-effective delivery of complex, multiple use cases and thus reduces overall TCO. - Control
You must be able to choose the right infrastructure environment for the job. For example, if you want to optimize for agility and experimentation, you probably will be better off doing so with an ephemeral public cloud infrastructure. However, as proof-of-concepts mature into mission-critical applications running at large scale, it might be preferable to bring the application back into the data center where you can reduce cost substantially. This flexibility facilitates regulatory needs and compliance requirements - Future proof
We live in a world of constant change; in the IT world, much of that change is driven by the battle for cloud infrastructure, e.g., Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM. One side effect of this battle is that larger enterprises tend to change their cloud strategy often; the former boss wanted AWS whereas the new boss wants Microsoft. Perhaps in a few years, your private cloud will be mature enough to render your need for public cloud less relevant for certain workloads.
It is prudent to select a single data management platform that is immune to the cloud infrastructure battle and will enable a reduction in infrastructure costs, and cost of resources to build new applications. This ability to move on the fly – arbitrage on the cloud – eliminates positioning yourself at an economic disadvantage. We advise against deeply embedding yourselves in the walled garden of any single cloud provider since this strategy will potentially make safeguarding your investment much more difficult down the road.
Transforming Your Business with Multi-cloud and Hybrid Strategies
Your business objectives should drive your cloud strategies. Cloudera’s Enterprise Data Cloud empowers you to meet your present and future business demands. It facilitates hybrid and multi-cloud strategies by delivering
- Flexibility to run modern data management and analytics workloads anywhere, regardless of where data resides;
- The ability to move your workloads to the cloud environment of your choice – public or private – to avoid provider lock-in and facilitate portability;
- Agility, elasticity, and ease-of-use of public clouds,
- Unified metadata, security, and governance across all environments – to eliminate silos.
Use this guide to determine where your data and workloads go in hybrid cloud.
Fred Koopmans, VP of Product Management
Lakshmi Randall, Director of Product Marketing
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