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Enterprise Multi-cloud Transformation Continues to be Key Theme for 2023

By Mehul Patel, Head of Customer Insights and Intelligence, Prosimo

Enterprise multi-cloud journeys are maturing. Cloud spend ($90.2 billion) will outpace non-cloud ($60.7 billion) IT spend for the first time this year (2022), according to analyst firm IDC. Our recent survey also showed much of this spike is a result of higher adoption of IaaS (68%) and PaaS (61%). However, 68% of enterprises experienced cloud outages within the last year, according to our research. As a result, security (67%) and performance (52%) remain the top enterprise concerns when interconnecting applications, networks and services. But as improving customer experiences (57%) is the top business driver, multi-cloud transformation continues to be a key theme.

Despite the spiking adoption of resources from cloud service providers (CSPs) such as Azure, AWS and GCP, enterprises are struggling with simplifying cloud operations. Without a consistent connectivity model across different workloads and services, this struggle leads to higher mean-time-to-resolution (MTTR) and negatively impacts time-to-value. A recent survey found only 13% of enterprises are able to onboard a new cloud region within a few days. Furthermore, onboarding only becomes more complicated and expensive as enterprise multi-cloud footprints continue to grow in scale and complexity. In fact, enterprises are currently spending an average of 20% more on cloud services and resources than budgeted for, according to a study by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

The good news is that there are some emerging trends that indicate there is a blueprint for success to help enterprises unlimit themselves as their dependence on the cloud continues to grow.  These trends include:

One consistent multi-cloud networking architecture built on cloud-native constructs

Cloud-native constructs offer many advantages. They enable enterprises to build a consistent architecture to support connectivity needed for application endpoints, cloud networks and services. Cloud-native constructs also give IT teams the ability to create end-to-end visibility across the entire enterprise cloud footprint in real-time. This leads to the ability to decrease MTTR, enable faster connectivity to onboard new regions and better understand cloud costs.

The shift to full-stack multi-cloud networking as requirements become better understood

The requirements for multi-cloud networking continue to evolve as delivering a single architecture requires enterprises to think beyond just routing to support consistent connectivity for application endpoints, cloud networks and PaaS. Solutions for multi-cloud networking now must include a full stack that features networking, application performance, security, and cost controls. This full-stack networking helps enterprises quickly understand if an issue is the result of a cloud outage, misconfiguration, security risk or compliance problem. Combined with end-to-end visibility, it also helps enterprises understand cloud costs and the impact. Is an application dormant? Would spinning up a new cloud region result in performance improvements that make the additional spend worth it? 

NetDevOps toolkits mature as IaC gains momentum

As enterprises better understand the requirements and overcome key challenges with multi-cloud networking, cloud-forward companies are investing in more sophisticated capabilities. This simplifies and improves operational efficiency in order to accelerate business velocity. More tools in the toolbox for NetDevOps help modernize pipeline-driven approaches and reduce the barriers between development and operations. One of the tools being adopted by enterprises is Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), a simplified process for complete orchestration of cloud networking services required to connect, scale, and secure enterprise applications. IaC enables organizations to repeatedly and rapidly deploy services that adhere to IT governance, reduce the CI/CD skills gap and drive greater operational efficiency. With IaC, enterprises can simplify and adapt any network changes with orchestration and automation to ensure a consistent and highly scalable cloud even as IT and business requirements change quickly.

We all see that enterprise multicloud is here! However, without overcoming complexity, organizations will fail; now is the time IT leaders must rethink IT architecture design in order to succeed.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As Head of Marketing and Customer Insights and Intelligence at Prosimo, Mehul works closely with industry analysts, CIOs and cloud architects at F500 companies, influencers and thought leaders to understand the challenges, trends and opportunities around the enterprise cloud.