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You might think that "cloudy" and "hybrid cloud" mean the same thing, but in fact, they are at different stages in the evolution of cloud computing.

People like to name everything. In the field of cloud computing, the naming of a technology or product usually reflects the way it is used: public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud. Now, the new term "cloudy" has emerged again, which symbolizes another emerging model of cloud computing.

Terms and definitions

"cloudy" means using multiple public clouds. The "multi-cloud" usage model occurs when enterprises try to avoid relying on a single public cloud provider, or when they need to choose different, specific features or services from each public cloud, or both.

The difference between "cloudy" and "mixed cloud"

So, what is the relationship between multicloud and hybrid cloud? Some people use these two words interchangeably, but in fact they do have different meanings. A hybrid cloud is a pairing between a private cloud (a local data center based on cloud technology) and a public cloud.

If you use multiple public clouds with private clouds, this is still a "cloudy" one. (some people may call it mixed cloudy, which is also possible. )

Definition of "practical hybrid cloud"

Recently, there is also a new concept / architecture called practical Hybrid Cloud (pragmatic hybrid cloud), which refers to the pairing of traditional enterprise data centers with public clouds. Many enterprises that use this way are disappointed with the private cloud, so they are looking for a way to combine the existing cloud with the public cloud.

By contrast, a multi-cloud architecture uses two or more public clouds.

What's behind the cloudy trend?

Cloud computing is becoming more and more complex, which is an undeniable trend. A few years ago, the vision of many enterprises was to be able to place workloads on a single cloud, whether public or private. But over time, the hybrid cloud architecture becomes more attractive because it provides more options for enterprises.

Enterprise IT needs this choice, because in addition to Amazon AWS, Google and Microsoft in the United States and other giants such as Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent in China have developed eye-catching public cloud platforms, providing enterprises with more feasible alternatives to launch public cloud business in addition to AWS. Other enterprise providers-- including IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, and so on-- have also joined the competition, although these public cloud solutions are not as successful as the industry's leading ones.

It is precisely because there are more and more public cloud options that companies are starting to mix them together, either through formal architectural processes or through "shadow IT" (that is, teams in the company use some kind of public cloud without the knowledge of the enterprise IT department). Various shadow IT often choose different public clouds, and then want the enterprise IT department to manage the operation and maintenance of these clouds.

Overall, regardless of the form and method used, most enterprises are now managing a multi-cloud infrastructure.

While many IT organizations use native tools and services from each cloud to manage these complex multi-cloud environments, more and more enterprises are getting smarter and are using platforms or tools to separate themselves from the complexities of multi-cloud management.

By using tools such as Cloud Management platform (CMP) and Cloud Service Agent (CSB), enterprises can manage multiple clouds as if they were managing a single cloud. However, what needs to be weighed here is that you may only be able to use some of the capabilities of each cloud; that is, you are taking the "lowest common denominator" approach.

Suggestion: focus on the role of cloud technology rather than the name

Public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, practical hybrid cloud, multi-cloud. Semantic overload? Indeed.

However, I advise you not to be bothered by titles, but to focus on what they do. In fact, I believe there will be new developments in the cloud architecture in the next few years, and new models will continue to emerge. I am also sure that more new names are coming.

Introduction to the author

David S. Linthicum

Deloitte Consulting's chief cloud strategy officer is also an internationally recognized industry expert and thought leader. Dave has written a total of 13 books on computing, has served as chief technology officer and CEO of a number of successful software companies, and has held senior management positions in Fortune 100 companies. He focuses on areas related to cloud computing, SOA, enterprise application integration, and enterprise architecture.

Original text link:

Https://www.infoworld.com/article/3226484/cloud-computing/what-is-multicloud-the-next-step-in-cloud-computing.html

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