Why Businesses Should Use Multi-Cloud Security
Multi-cloud security is used to deploy workloads using multiple cloud platforms for both public and private clouds. Some public clouds are much better including AWS, Google Cloud Platform and Azure. One of the positives of this is that businesses will be able to manage costs more efficiently.
One of the reasons why a company doesn’t use a multi-cloud is because they are at a higher risk of being hacked which raises cloud security concerns. Nonetheless, multi-cloud requires an approach that diversifies security vulnerabilities.
Why Use A Multi-Cloud Strategy?
A multi-cloud strategy lets companies choose from different cloud services from several providers. Furthermore, there are several benefits to a multi-cloud strategy.
Specialisation
Some cloud platforms are better at performing specific tasks and workloads. A good example is a cloud provider that can offer lower-cost storage, more powerful compute instances, machine learning and specialised services.
Cost and Financial Leverage
Another positive of a multi-cloud strategy is that you can use it for cost and financial leverage. It allows companies to negotiate with providers thanks to their multi-cloud deployment. Companies will be more interested in working with businesses that have a multi-cloud system rather than those that use one singular cloud.
Disaster Recovery
The days are now gone for people printing off documents and storing them in a large folder. We are now completely relying on storing key documents on the cloud which is why multi-cloud storage is important. Business disasters can occur more often than you may think which is why you need to ensure you have stable multi-cloud storage in place. Some companies make the mistake of using just one cloud.
Cloud providers allow companies to operate across many geographical regions in the world. Nonetheless, outages can occur, leading to the company being out of action. Having multi-cloud security will help backup files and recover data.
Many people are understanding that using multi-cloud storage for critical data is a lot safer than they originally thought. Furthermore, a company’s disaster recovery strategies are far more advanced on critical data and information in the cloud. However, companies are over-selective with the different cloud platforms due to their relationships with business partners.
You mustn’t just use one cloud because if this cloud fails, it can lead to your business losing all of the data which is stored.
Having a cyber incident response team to deal with any issues and help retrieve the data that is lost or damaged is also important. A multi-cloud server can be difficult to manage which is why you will need a specialist team for this.
Multi-Cloud Management
To ensure the security of your business with multi-cloud services, we advise that you follow this infrastructure.
Authorisation and Authentication
Find a multi-cloud service that can recognise different authentication models. We strongly advise you to separate the multi-clouds from one another to enhance the security of your company.
Upgrades and Patches
The backup methods and vulnerabilities of each cloud provider can vary, even if it is for the same infrastructure for your company. Software and technology must be regularly updated so patch updates are in place to reduce vulnerabilities and bugs.
Component Hardening
Components must be hardened with your cloud service. Unsecured ports, unnecessary software, secure APIs and web interfaces should all be improved to ensure security is stronger.
Monitoring and Visibility
One of the main issues with operating on one cloud provider is the lack of security. It is the positive of having multiple cloud providers. More security would be in place to protect your data and ensure the information is secure.
Multi-Cloud Storage
Make sure the most private and confidential data is in the most secure cloud provider. Furthermore, the geographical distribution of your company’s data will be managed. It can also allow you to implement data loss solutions in case any private data is damaged across the multiple cloud storages you are using.
What Are The Disadvantages Of A Multi-Cloud Strategy
Although there are many benefits to multi-cloud providers, there are also disadvantages that come with it.
Complexity and Expenses
The more multi-cloud providers you have, the more benefits you will have however, this can also bring some disadvantages. One of those is making your data management more complex. Furthermore, the more multi-cloud providers you have, the more expensive it will be.
Compatibility and Consistency
The standard of your tools and processes can become an issue as well. As your company increases over time, your cloud infrastructure and engineering team will also increase. Although this may sound good, it can also spiral out of control.
Limited Visibility and Control
Another problem with a multi-cloud strategy is that you are unable to view the data in the cloud. However, when it is on one cloud, it is much easier. Additionally, there are many tools that you can use when having multiple clouds however, this can also have a negative impact by limiting the tools to use.
Key Tip For Accessing Multiple Clouds
A company needs to be able to access clouds from a physical independent location. The reason why is in case the connection fails at that location. This can occur if an internet provider temporarily shuts down the internet connection in that area. It can also occur if a data centre has an outage as well. So, not only does important data need to be stored across multiple clouds. It also requires you to be able to access the data from these physical locations as well to ensure that the documents are backed up enough.
Summary
The cloud is a great place to store your company’s private and confidential data. Additionally, a virtual server doesn’t need an actual object and therefore saves space in your offices. Nonetheless, there are security risks with the cloud so you must have an onsite security team to deal with any risks.
One final point that we will make for the multi-cloud is that it can help you keep ahead of new regulations. It is becoming known that regulators are getting worried about the cloud concentration of a business. Furthermore, the financial industry is one of the many industries that are at risk in terms of the need for risk mitigation. So there you have it, make sure all of your data is backed up on multi-cloud storage to ensure that they are safe and won’t be lost if anything goes wrong.
