The ‘cloud' has
become a commonplace term across the world. Data that used to be stored on
handheld devices like USBs or hard disks are now being stored online in a
digital vault simply known as the cloud. Developers have increasingly been
optimizing cloud storage options, and creating better infrastructure for cloud
adoption over the last few years.
This data encompasses about anything you'd
want to save: photos, videos, documents and more. The modern cloud attack
surface is complex and presents challenges when securing endpoints, servers,
containers, and cloud providers. Continued adopting and evolving cloud-based
infrastructure require cloud-native security analytics to adapt
quickly, open source software provides the foundations that make it easy to
focus on each unique requirement.
A 2022 Cloudwards report predicts that over 100 Zettabytes of data will be stored in the
cloud by 2025. 1 zettabyte equals 1 billion terabytes, equivalent to 1 trillion
gigabytes, and so on. It's difficult to fully comprehend the massive volume of
data that is being stored in online servers around the world. This data
encompasses anything you'd want to save: photos, videos, documents, and more.
As cloud saves grow, so does the need for multi-cloud management. There are currently three
kinds of cloud computing available: public, which third-party providers
operate; private, which is used by one corporation and hybrid, which combines
both private, and public clouds. The sheer volume of data being transferred
across clouds led to the creation of a new cloud-deployment structure called
cloud orchestration.
Image Sourced from
Cloudwords
What is Cloud Orchestration?
Cloud Orchestration organizes and coordinates
automated cloud-computing actions, creating an amalgamated workflow that makes
monitoring and tracking data easier. This process incorporates various
workloads, apps and other resources, and refines operations, optimizing
delivery times. This is usually used during a specific project with particular
objectives. The automation process creates a workflow ideal for that project.
Engineers use cloud orchestration to deploy servers, assign
storage for specific data types, use Virtual Machines (VMs), and manage various
software programs across clouds. There are a lot of advantages to cloud
orchestration. These include increased collaboration between developers and
engineers, reduced IT costs, and reduced chances of human error. Let's take a
deeper look at the benefits of cloud orchestration.
What Are the Benefits of Cloud
Orchestration?
Cloud orchestration offers numerous benefits
to businesses and individuals:
1. Increased
Operational Efficiency
Cloud orchestration
adds flexibility to operations, and optimizes these tasks. The automation that
enables orchestration to work brings individual tasks together and creates more
comprehensive and efficient workflows that allow analysts, developers, and
engineers to access data and resources as, and when required. For example, an
analyst studying Databricks
SQL analytics won't have to access different clouds to get this
information.
This process also
makes it easier for project managers to understand their workflow. Cloud
orchestration brings scattered databases, networks, servers, storage, and other
resources together. It integrates these elements, and helps them work in
perfect harmony, increasing efficiency in operational tasks. Bringing together
all your data in this way can make your data analytics process more efficient.
2. Supporting
DevOps Initiatives
Cloud orchestration
ensures that DevOps access relevant resources quickly, and efficiently. It uses
chargebacks and metering to boost this efficiency, creating a flexible process
that DevOps can take advantage of. Another way in which automation accomplishes
this is through the delegation of tasks. Successful orchestration automatically
assigns low-priority tasks to different resources, freeing up precious time for
DevOps to work.
It also acts as an
automatic problem solver without human intervention. This can be incredibly
useful in the manufacturing industry, where developers have to continuously
work behind the scenes to ensure smooth B2B, and B2C experiences. An analyst
unable to run a manufacturing industry data analysis can work the
kinks out themselves through orchestration instead of having to loop the
developers in, saving their time.
3. Enhanced
Security and Visibility
Organizations feel
safer when they use cloud orchestration to automate their workflows because it
reduces or eliminates the need for human intervention. If the process weren't
automated, the business would have to spend extra budget allocating resources for
troubleshooting every error that popped up. Cloud-native security analytics looks at the
option for continued growth while evolving realistically, identifying malware
or many other tasks, including gathering intelligence.
A cloud orchestration
system can also help securely store files across clouds. Businesses work with
sensitive and critical contracts, which, if leaked, would cause chaos. This
isn't an issue with automated cloud management. Employees can use contract template software to draft these
agreements then store them in the cloud, knowing they'll be safe. Plus, they
can access them anytime through the system.
Cloud Orchestration Solutions
There are several factors to look for when
picking the cloud orchestration that's right for your business:
- Usability and ease of access: pick
a platform that provides a relatively simple user interface to increase
efficiency, and reduce learning time.
- Cost effectiveness: be wary of
paying more for a service you can snag for cheaper elsewhere. Compare utility,
and quality against the price before you decide to invest in a specific
platform.
- User interface: cloud
orchestration programs can be challenging to understand, so make sure you pick
one that isn't multi-layered or unnecessarily complicated. This will also
benefit your team.
- Integrations: look for a flexible
platform to integrate the resources you need, even if they're external
programs.
Once you've decided on these factors, it's
time to look through available resources, and pick one.

Cloud Orchestration Resources
Here are some platforms to consider:
- Cloudify
- Cyclr
- Cloudbolt
- Kubernetes
- BMC Multi-Cloud Management
- CloudHealth
The Future of Cloud
Orchestration
Cloud orchestration is becoming increasingly
popular as businesses around the world look for smart solutions to decrease
their cloud-computing footprint. It's important that organizations utilize this
automated process fully because numerous companies are now working with remote
or hybrid working models. A platform that combines important databases and
networks is critical to creating a smooth workflow across teams, and
departments, whether offline or in-person.
These platforms will grow in importance as developers
come up with new tech and methods to deploy cloud computing. It's vital to keep training
employees to work with cloud orchestration platforms so they don't waste time
getting bogged down in confusion. Frequent learning sessions and skill
refreshes can ensure increased productivity, and better workflow in the
organization.
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Pohan Lin - Senior Web Marketing and Localizations Manager
#1:
Pohan Lin is the Senior Web Marketing and Localizations
Manager at Databricks, a global Data, AI and solution for QoS provider connecting
the features of data warehouses and data lakes to create lakehouse
architecture. With over 18 years of experience in web marketing, online SaaS
business, and ecommerce growth. Pohan is passionate about innovation and is
dedicated to communicating the significant impact data has in marketing. Pohan
Lin also published articles for domains such as SME News.