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Multicloud Computing
JOIN US: Discuss the challenges, potential and best practices for multicloud computing.
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James Maguire
Q8. The future of multicloud? Where will we be in 3-5 years?
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
A8: Multicloud will be the future of enterprise cloud computing, and we will continue to see double-digit growth in consumption.
digitalmarks
A8: The future of multi-cloud is one where more powerful abstractions (e.g. serverless) allow for more sophisticated strategies. As we’ve seen with other tech paradigms the increased sophistication will make it easier for some and more challenging for others.
Marc Linster
A8 Cloud vendor independence is key - nobody wants to repeat the commercial software mistakes of the past. Open source software is the answer - it runs on all clouds, and provides vendor and platform independence #eweekchat
Dan Griffith
A8: Edge compute will get as much mindshare as cloud native in the core
James Maguire
@dangit_hub Will edge overtake cloud, or merge with it?
Marc Linster
@dangit_hub Do you see the need to be on multiple clouds to get geo coverage?
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
It will merge and form one ubiquitous cloud.
Dan Griffith
A8: As a result, multicloud as a term will encompass all compute as a service scenarios
Marc Linster
Important to see Cloud == Compute as Service, as opposed to Cloud == Data Center in the Cloud
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
@MarcLinster Yes. To serve consumers and address local regulation and compliance needs across various geographies.

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Dan Griffith
My own opinion, edge native will be its own domain as a subdomain of cloud native
James Maguire
@digitalmarks I don't agree on this one. Edge will have a major gravitational pull -- as much or more than cloud.
Dan Griffith
@MarcLinster For some enterprise clients, absolutely. Majority? Not yet clear to me
Carolyn Duby
A8: In the future multicloud will be more seamless. PAAS is out performing IAAS so there will be less emphasis on the implementation and where the service is running.
Dan Griffith
Agree to the extent that data provides that gravitational "pull"
digitalmarks
re: edge, absolutely! I consider it an abstraction.
Chris Ehrlich
A8: The market will be quite mature, as cloud migrations hasten and multicloud is part of the implementations
Carolyn Duby
@MarcLinster Agree. It doesn't make sense for organizations to learn three or four different ways to do the same workload with security and governance.
James Maguire
Q6. What’s a big myth associated with multicloud?
digitalmarks
A6: That if you’re not doing multi-cloud, you’re doing something wrong. Not to undermine any of the advantages we’ve been discussing, but if you’re happy with a single provider, that’s OK!
digitalmarks
A6: Multi-cloud introduces complexity, and you want to go in with your eyes wide open. If a single provider is meeting your business needs, you should really take the time to weigh your motivations, the perceived benefits, against the complexity you are introducing.
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
A6: The biggest myth with multicloud is that it provides a straightforward approach for increased #reliability, cost efficiency and optimized ways of working.
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
A6: In reality, having the right design, architecture and operations of a workload in a multicloud environment is a must to unlock the true potential of multicloud.
Dan Griffith
A6: Going multicloud mitigates vendor lockin
James Maguire
@KPHariHitachi It's anything but straight forward, surely!
Marc Linster
A6 IT execs may think that multicloud is easy-it is not. E.g., one can easily drift from RDS Postgres to Aurora for Postgres for a specific project, but that just put an end to the multicloud option. Data gravity is a problem too - apps tend to go where the data is

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James Maguire
@dangit_hub So true. Multicloud also includes vendor lock-in.
Dan Griffith
A6: Taking a deliberate, planned approach to abstraction can mitigate some lockin risk. Multicloud in and of itself is no panacea.
Marc Linster
Until the vendor changes their pricing or licensing, and then you are stuck. You are back to where you were with conventional software vendors - locked in
Daniel Graves
Exactly. Multi-cloud is often being locked into multiple clouds.
Daniel Graves
Which brings us back to two very different multi-cloud strategies: 1. Trying to make everything portable across clouds for future migration, and 2. Assuming things built in any cloud will stay there, and determining which workloads/data should live in each cloud.

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Chris Ehrlich
A6: In a way here, the natural portability of open source in the architecture.

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Daniel Graves
Enterprises needs to make this choice and follow through with people / process / technology to achieve it
James Maguire
Q5. What advice would you give companies to optimize their multicloud?
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
@JamesMaguire A5: @HitachiVantara we believe that an effective #multicloud strategy or implementation is underpinned by a strong design and architecture.

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Dan Griffith
Infrastructure as Code (IaC). Always. Everywhere. For cloud infrastructure teams, your multicloud platform is your product, and development/operations/security (DevSecOps) teams are the consumers
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
A5: Here are three key considerations: 1) look at a workload in a holistic manner as compared to individual cloud resources – infrastructure, network, application, data and security etc.
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
A5: 2) design, build and operate with a right balance of reliability, efficiency and cost management. 3) manage multicloud environments with a consistent and automated set of configuration and policies for seamless integration.
Chris Ehrlich
A5: Lean on their vendors to help solve cloud challenges as unbiased experts. Partners and solutions will emerge.

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digitalmarks
A5: Designate a group to own strategy and management. At a minimum, task them with instituting controls around performance and spending. Tools, capabilities, and standards are evolving, and this group should regularly evaluate those in conjunction with stakeholders and real data
Marc Linster
A5 Use Postgres - it is available on every cloud PaaS and IaaS. Using Postgres provides complete cloud portability and vendor independence. Outside of Postgres: use standard open source software, not the cloud-specific forks. Avoid lock-in like the plague #eweekchat
Dan Griffith
A5: We have proven that even for mainly IaaS workloads distributed across multiple CSP's, using a common IaC approach is the single greatest lever to mitigate complexity
Marc Linster
@dangit_hub I agree - manual deployment at scale, without Infrastructure as Code is a losing proposition
Daniel Graves
A5: If a companies objective with multi-cloud is avoiding lock-in, then they have to carefully govern the architecture and services decisions for each project. Easier said than done with the real-world pressures on project velocity.
Daniel Graves
A5: enterprises can help project teams by building out enterprise-wide best-practices of DevOps processes and tools, technologies, open-source components and multi-cloud software capabilities to leverage.
Carolyn Duby
A5: Choose a partner and platform designed for secure multicloud that can scale and grow as your data needs change.
James Maguire
Q3. What’s companies’ comfort level with their multicloud deployment? Mostly okay, or confused and challenged?
Marc Linster
A2 Systematic multicloud strategies are in the infancy stage - but cloud vendor independence is rapidly becoming a central CIO message. Increasingly IT departments avoid cloud-vendor specific solutions. Postgres is a leading example, as it runs in every cloud #eweek
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
A3: Enterprises devise their strategy to run critical workloads in a multicloud deployment scenario for two reasons: 1) because of the inherent #reliability & #security risks in a single supplier solution...
Chris Ehrlich
A3: Challenged. They must lean on limited cloud teams, competing vendors, and consultants to unify their multicloud strategy.

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digitalmarks
A3: Again, this one varies depending on how a company adopted mutli-cloud, what’s important to them, and how they measure success.
James Maguire
@marclinster I agree that "multicloud strategies are in the infancy stage" but deployments are already major. Could be a problem!
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
A3: 2) the growing risk of being trapped on an expensive platform with high costs to integrate. The challenges lie with the implementation and the management of a multicloud deployment.
Marc Linster
I agree - multicloud deployments are major, but are they supported by a sound tech strategy?
Marc Linster
@KPHariHitachi Agree - CIOs tend to worry more about cost IMHO than tech limitations
digitalmarks
A3: Companies that adopted multi-cloud in silos, where individuals or BU's took advantage of the ease of signing up, end up in a world where individuals view it as a success, while those with a 10k foot view are uncomfortable or confused about how to manage the sprawl.
Krishnaprasath "KP" Hari
@MarcLinster Not just the sound tech strategy, but must align with business strategy.
James Maguire
@marclinster I think companies are making it up as the go. Plenty of confusion and bad spending.
digitalmarks
A3: Conversely, companies that embraced multi-cloud with a clear strategy, instituting best practices and controls around the building, managing, and governing their cloud presence, will feel much more comfortable.
Carolyn Duby
A3: Multicloud can seem daunting but defining a strategy and adopting a multi-function platform that is natively multicloud helps the team to place it's focus on delivering business value rather than re-learning different services on different clouds.
Carolyn Duby
@digitalmarks Agreed. Strategy is key.