Organizations have been hopping on the multi-cloud bandwagon like never before. However, framing a multi-cloud strategy is no piece of cake. It requires intensive planning to make it work and get the desired results. It matters as every cloud has its own unique features hence it makes no sense to directly compete one public cloud with another. Which is why, the multi-cloud environment has been booming phenomenally in the last few years. Fast forward to 2021, organizations leverage multi-cloud setup to take the advantage of best-of-breed solutions to outperform competitors. It helps organizations mitigate data loss and manage downtime and outages with resilience. Let’s look at three common issues that are related to multi-cloud namely security, cost, and management.

       
• Security

Security in cloud computing needs to be understood as a shared responsibility. In the context of multi-cloud where the environment is bigger and disparate, security gets more complicated. We have heard of numerous instances of organizations misconfiguing cloud environments by exposing themselves to several vulnerabilities. Misconfiguration of a multi-cloud environment enables cybercriminals to target organizational confidential data. A few security considerations for multi-cloud environments include authentication, authorization, upgrades,  patching, component hardening, visibility, and storage. Zero-trust approach should also be explored to secure the cloud. You can improve security by synchronizing policies, tailoring security policies to services, automating security, consolidating monitoring, and compliances across clouds. Organizations need to be Agile as multi-cloud deployments are more likely to fall victim to security breaches.

       
• Cost

Cost needs to be considered as multi-cloud has been becoming the de facto standard. One thing to note here is that cloud and cost-savings are meant to go hand in hand, if that’s not the case with you then you are doing it wrong. IT leaders need to focus on cost optimization which acts as a critical part of a multi-cloud strategy. Failing to keep an eye on costs associated with each platform or lack of visibility in the cloud ecosystem can deter your cost-effectiveness goals by driving multi-cloud bills up. Every cloud vendor uses different billing systems with varied pricing and infrastructure sizing models. Hence, the billing process can get difficult to manage in case of multiple clouds. Just like security, cost management needs to be seen as a continuous and ongoing process. Also, monetary investment toward employee development should be prioritized. Every organization should prioritize the constant upskilling of employees so that they can hone their skill set pertinent to cloud computing and stay relevant in the market.

       
• Management

Access management-related challenges emerge as more organizations are turning to multi-cloud strategy to further their digital transformation initiatives. A multi-cloud environment focuses on compliance planning. Organizations may have to deal with inconsistent security protocols for each cloud platform. It can increase vulnerabilities in the shadow IT environment. An organization that has employees is bound to deal with shadow IT that causes security, integration, and operational challenges. It involves technologies used by the employees that aren’t approved by the IT teams. In the context of access, AWS, Azure, and GCP use varied approaches for Identity and Access Management (IAM). Organizations that tie up with multiple providers need to learn the providers' systems that they use. They need to independently manage them.

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