Posted on October 14, 2021
Cloud
Private cloud infrastructure is growing at a comparable pace to public cloud services. Enterprises spent $72.9 billion on private cloud solutions in 2020. That is according to an independent analysis by Statista.
Moreover, it’s expected that those expenditures will expand at a CAGR of 28 percent from 2021 to 2027.
VMware, vSphere, Microsoft Azure Stack, OpenStack, VMware vCloud Director, and AWS Outposts were the most common private cloud systems used by businesses in 2020.
IT has begun to address the price/performance of various cloud services. Take a look at each app or task to see where it would be most efficient to run it. Or only move to the cloud when the price is reasonable.
Research shows that 62% of companies are considering Multi-Cloud strategies for business transformation.
Looking for all you should know about establishing a multi-cloud strategy? Take a look at the information you should know right now!
Economic factors are driving the increased need for multi-cloud architecture. As a consequence, businesses are trying to cut their infrastructure costs. As a result, businesses are using only what is necessary and paying less for it.
But what is the best method and solution for guaranteeing a long-term decrease in the total cost?
Let’s examine some challenges and offer solutions for maximizing CapEx and OpEx efficiency. We will also show that optimizing infrastructure costs needs a multi-cloud strategy. That strategy combines a shared public cloud infrastructure with a cost-effective private cloud.
When compared to legacy IT frameworks, the major promise of cloud transition is lower TCO. Before, businesses would keep dedicated servers for distinct services.
Businesses would manage the infrastructure alongside the applications. Unfortunately, that resulted in inefficient resource use.
It also resulted in extra time spent managing dependencies. The dependencies in question being between the OS and executing apps.
Companies want to reduce TCO by leveraging virtualization and containerization technologies. That isolates applications within isolated silos. This isolation distributes them across the underlying servers.
That isolation gives more efficient resource consumption. Finally, it lets you use the system in an automated way. That isolation also ensures that you use applications only when needed.
Despite this, only a few companies have been successful in accomplishing these objectives. One of the main reasons for this is the increasing number of cloud workloads.
Furthermore, recent innovations, such as cloud-native computing, place extra strain on infrastructure teams. That is due to cloud-native computing’s adoption of the microservices architecture. That architecture necessitates the deconstruction of applications into smaller, independent components.
As a result, each one runs in its own virtual machine (VM) or container. If not built the proper way, it ends in hundreds of cloud jobs and increased resource usage.
Leading public cloud providers are well aware of the problem. As a result, they have cut their service rates. For example, since its start in 2006, Amazon Web Services has dropped 67 times.
Many public cloud providers foster healthy competition, innovation, service quality, and reduced pricing. However, it does not help to avoid an increase in resource demand. Owning cloud infrastructure reduces TCO since it is more profitable than renting. Especially over time and at scale.
But, due to the high initial CapEx expenditures, private cloud is not a choice for everyone. Furthermore, many major private cloud providers demand expensive licensing before deployment.
A company’s ability to run all its workloads in the private cloud is also restricted. That limitation depends on capacity and technical options.
This makes reducing cloud infrastructure costs more challenging than it seems. This usually translates to running workloads where it is the most cost-effective. To do this, the cost-effectiveness of cloud infrastructure must be guaranteed.
To install a multi-cloud strategy, consider model-driven operations and target costing methods.
In the following section, we’ll discuss cost-effective ways for multi-cloud setups. Following these guidelines provides optimal CapEx and OpEx efficiency. It also improves return on investment (ROI).
Ignoring the infrastructure’s economic components harms the company. Wrong workload placement selections can lead to a continuous increase in TCO. Workloads should always run on the most cost-effective infrastructure available.
You can use cost-per-resource metrics and TCO calculators to check infrastructure expenses. That will help you make data-driven decisions about workload placement.
Businesses should continue to use the public cloud if investing in a private cloud is not viable. As public cloud costs rise, companies should embrace a multi-cloud strategy.
Bulky workloads are seldom moved to the cloud without the apps that run them being rewritten. However, such an approach leads to poor resource use. That, in turn, leads to operational and maintenance problems.
It would be best to always design workloads in the cloud to use only as many resources as they need. Once the demand for the resources increases, they should be able to scale out.
Cloud-native computing is a tried and true method for accomplishing this. You use microservices architecture in cloud-native to break applications into atomic parts. These atomic parts run the applications within containers.
As a result, you can distribute resources more efficiently. You can also distribute those resources following real needs. That results in reduced consumption and cheaper costs.
Business applications are spread across several cloud providers in multi-cloud settings. Databases should be in a private cloud for security reasons. But, it is more cost-effective for front-end applications to be hosted on a public cloud.
This makes it essential for the long-term success of operations. You will be able to deploy applications across many cloud providers. You will also be able to integrate them regardless of where they’re hosted.
As a result, the industry is using technologies such as model-driven operators.
An operator encompasses a single application and all the code and know-how required to run it. An example is how to combine and work with related apps or upgrade them.
Model-driven operators allow the creation of even the most complicated application topologies. These include containerized and traditional workloads, and they span many cloud providers simultaneously.
Many organizations are hesitant to build their own cloud. That is because they lack the necessary skills to administer a private cloud. They also do not have the funds to get and train new employees. In this instance, fully-managed private cloud services are an excellent choice.
When using full managed services, the provider manages and operates the cloud. That allows businesses to use a cost-effective private cloud platform.
By using a cost-effective platform, they will not incur any extra costs. For small-scale deployments, they are also more cost-effective than engaging a dedicated team.
In truth, the quantity of cloud-based workloads is never constant. Instead, the demand for services varies according to the day of the week, the time of day, and other factors.
As a result, business apps are built so that they can automatically scale up and down. They can also be totally reprovisioned in response to changing demands. As the workloads fluctuate, it’s critical to keep an eye on the private cloud’s capacity.
Companies can burst workloads to the public cloud during peak times using a multi-cloud architecture. This way, businesses get more on-demand resources. First, however, it’s critical to keep an eye on actual resource usage.
As demand grows, it becomes more cost-effective to scale out the private cloud. That is, instead of continuing to use public cloud resources to handle the workload surge.
More and more apps are running on the cloud as the cloud computing market expands. As the need for resources continues to rise, this inevitable trend places further strain on organizations’ IT teams.
A Multi-Cloud Strategy offers instant access to theoretically endless resources. However, that access affects their pricing structure which impacts the budget, resulting in a rising TCO. As a result, infrastructure costs continue to rise.
That rise in costs reduces the budget for innovation and erodes corporate outcomes. As a result, companies will need a multi-cloud strategy to optimize infrastructure costs. That is, to always pay less for the same amount of resources.
When you combine existing public and private cloud systems, you can achieve smart workload allocation. That ensures that workloads are always done where they make the most economic sense.
Cost-per-resource metrics are a tried and true way of comparing cloud pricing. These, together with advanced tools like TCO calculators, allow for precise cost estimations.
Are you looking for help with transitioning and managing your multi-cloud journey? Contact us for best-in-class service.