Multi-cloud Architecture

As enterprises strive for digital transformation, IT teams have increasingly adopted a mix of public and private Clouds, each with its own advantages for the specific needs of targeted workloads. This multi-cloud infrastructure has made private Cloud vs public Cloud debates irrelevant – enterprises can take advantage of the benefits of both on-premise infrastructure and Cloud solutions.

With a multi-cloud architecture, IT departments can rely on public Cloud offerings for highly scalable, readily available, pay-as-you-go Cloud resources that offer access to new technologies – AI/ML, serverless computing, blockchain, real-time Cloud analytics and more. Public Cloud platforms provide the speed, agility and geographical reach to accelerate innovation.

Multi-cloud architecture also permits the use of on-premises infrastructure, providing benefits in security, data governance, data locality and low-latency performance. And a multi-cloud deployment enables the use of edge Cloud computing as well, decentralizing processing to edge locations to lower costs and deliver more low-latency experiences.

Despite all the benefits of multiple Cloud solutions, there are many challenges as well. Every Cloud platform has different management and operations tools, and a multi-cloud architecture inevitably includes operational silos, complex workload migrations, inconsistent SLAs and problems with an inconsistent security posture. Ultimately, a multi-cloud architecture can limit the effectiveness of Cloud operations, hindering the kind of innovation that was the initial driver for Cloud adoption.

To overcome this complexity, enterprises are now looking to hybrid Cloud infrastructure – with a consistent operations and management experience – to eliminate multi-cloud complexity while still enabling flexible deployment options for high-value workloads.

Dell Technologies Cloud offers a suite of Cloud solutions that use the expertise of Dell Technologies to improve the hybrid Cloud experience. With a robust set of Cloud software and hardware offerings backed by professional and financial services, Dell Technologies Cloud helps IT leaders mitigate the complexity of multi-cloud architecture by leveraging consistent management and orchestration across public, private and edge Cloud platforms.

Dell Technologies Cloud includes:
• A robust hyperconverged infrastructure platform, Dell Technologies VCF on VxRail, with a complete set of software-defined services for compute, storage, networking and security provided by VMware Cloud Foundation.
• Data Center as a Service capabilities offered as a fully managed subscription-based solution that brings the simplicity and agility of the public Cloud to data center and edge locations.
• Pre-tested, best-of-breed infrastructure from Dell Technologies that lets IT teams build hybrid Cloud infrastructure with independent scaling of storage and compute to meet the varied demands of legacy applications and Cloud workloads.
• Support for partner Clouds, enabling enterprises to extend a hybrid Cloud experience to Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and 4,200 additional Cloud partners.

By managing multi-cloud architecture with Dell Technologies Cloud, enterprises can:
• Simplify operations with a consistent management experience across all Clouds. By providing a common set of tools and consistent operations and infrastructure, Dell Technologies Cloud reduces management overhead, increases efficiency of Cloud processes and reduces risk by more easily enforcing security policies across all Cloud resources.
• Increase agility and enhance innovation. Dell Technologies Cloud lets IT teams move quickly without disruption, embracing new Cloud operating models rather than facing prolonged and costly re-platforming efforts when moving to the Cloud.
• Optimize TCO with flexible pricing models. With mobility and portability across a multi-cloud architecture, enterprises can take advantage of flexible consumption payment options to minimize expense and enjoy more predictable costs.
• Simplify Cloud migration. Pre-engineered and pre-tested infrastructure enables IT teams to get Cloud workloads up and running more quickly.
• Align workloads with the optimal Cloud environment. By simplifying management and migration across Clouds, Dell Technologies Cloud makes it easier to run workloads and applications on the most appropriate Cloud resource.

What is Cloud architecture?
Cloud architecture is the collection of components and infrastructure required for Cloud computing. In addition to a front-end component and a network that enable users to interact with Cloud infrastructure, Cloud architecture includes servers, storage, databases, and services that are made available as a shared pool of resources with elastic capacity that organizations can access on demand.

What is multi-cloud architecture?
Multi-cloud architecture involves the use of multiple Cloud solutions and multiple vendors. Multi-cloud architecture can be a mix of public and private Clouds, or it may comprise only public Cloud solutions. Multi-cloud architecture enables IT teams to choose the optimal Cloud resource for the needs of applications and workloads, but it doesn’t provide technology for connecting various Cloud platforms to one another or orchestrating the movement of workloads between them.

What is hybrid Cloud architecture?
Hybrid Cloud architecture involves at least one public and one private Cloud along with technology that allows data and application portability between Clouds to support Cloud bursting, load balancing between Clouds and other activities that simplify management of Cloud workloads. Hybrid Clouds resolve the question of whether to rely on on premise vs Cloud infrastructure by enabling applications and workloads to be moved easily between both.