“We don’t want vendor lock-in, we want multi-cloud.” We hear this from clients more and more. But what does multi-cloud really mean, how much does it cost, and when does it make sense?
Types of Multi-Cloud¶
Arbitrage: different workloads on different clouds (SAP on Azure, ML on GCP). Redundant: the same workload on multiple clouds for DR. Portable: workloads transferable between clouds.
Why Most Companies Don’t Need “True” Multi-Cloud¶
Redundant multi-cloud doubles complexity: networking, IAM, monitoring, billing — everything twice. Abstraction layers (Terraform, Kubernetes) help, but cloud-specific services (RDS, BigQuery, Cosmos DB) cannot be abstracted.
When Multi-Cloud Makes Sense¶
- Regulation: data residency requirements → different cloud for different regions
- Best of breed: ML on GCP, SAP on Azure, e-commerce on AWS
- Acquisitions: a company buys another company on a different cloud
- Negotiation leverage: the ability to leave improves your bargaining position
Our Recommendation¶
Primary cloud + exit strategy. Choose one cloud as your primary, fully leverage its managed services (that’s the whole point of cloud), but maintain architectural principles that simplify a potential migration.
Multi-Cloud Is a Strategy, Not a Goal¶
Don’t run multi-cloud for the sake of multi-cloud. Have a clear reason for every cloud you use. And invest in portable skills (Kubernetes, Terraform).
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