A member of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria, Akeredolu Isaac Rotimi has proffered solution to hybrid-cloud computing challenges, network problems and data difficulty rocking computer literates in the country.
Rotimi, a cloud solution architect, disclosed this while addressing the press in Lagos. Having frowned at the recent network problems which halted online activities in Africa and other part of the world, the aws and oracle cloud certified cloud architect hinted the challenge can be eradicated with the help of expertise across the globe.
In his words: “Hybrid-Cloud computing has evolved from what was perceived as “…yet another innovative concept” into a formidable cutting-edge solution that has allowed businesses to respond quickly to market demands by offering a computing environment that uses a blend of on-premises, private cloud, and public clouds. According to Fortinet, on October 14, 2021, 92% of enterprises have a multi-cloud strategy and 80% have a hybrid cloud strategy. Even though the idea of a Hybrid Cloud Computing has been around for a while, there have been quite a few difficulties that have characterized its adoption.”
“One common justification for employing a hybrid environment is to facilitate a transition to a full cloud deployment. The journey to hybrid-cloud deployment always begins by transforming fragments of an organization’s on-premises data center into private cloud infrastructure and then linking the infrastructure to public cloud environments that are hosted off-premises by two (2) or more cloud service providers.”
“Since hybrid-cloud regularly involves a blend of technologies and vendors, the level of complication and the amount of planning required to manage these platforms is at an increasing rate. Below are some of the challenges to choosing a multi-cloud strategy and the ways to combat them,” he stated.
Narrating the challenges and increased in the operational complexity, Rotimi revealed many businesses has leverage on multi-cloud technologies to fast track the journey of digital business.
“One thing that has stood out as long-standing challenge is the administration of multifaceted networking between information infrastructures on-premises and the public clouds, and re-designing old applications for the cloud can be expensive and time-consuming”
“Despite the huge benefits of multi-cloud adoption, it has also added layers of network management complexity particularly when cloud services are added in an ad-hoc manner. The challenge is that each cloud environment is distinctive, and devices that span multiple cloud environments need to be able to connect flawlessly, and work between different cloud environments without losing capabilities.”
“Today, many Organizations that run services on multi-clouds are building a safe, and high-performing network by leveraging the simplicity and scalability of software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) to provide application-aware network infrastructure that cuts across multiple cloud environments. It has now become the solution of choice for multi-cloud computing allowing-organizations to enhance their leased network links with direct internet connections to enable their networks to utilize the most improved networks for their different cloud workloads.”
“Over the years, many businesses have leveraged on multi-cloud technologies to fast track the journey to becoming a digital business. From administration and security point of view, it is an undisputable fact that Information Technology environments become more complex as businesses deploy more public cloud services and add private cloud capabilities.”
“Companies must be mindful of Hybrid-Cloud solutions that have helped small to medium sized Enterprises, and Multinational Corporations to blend the boundaries between cloud and on-premises for a real hybrid cloud experience. A good example is Nutanix that provides a unified platform that manages datacenters, clouds, and computing edge for a secure environment through built-in security and resiliency to safeguard data and ensure business continuity.”
Narrating further, the information technology expert, raises concern over the security state of the hybrid-cloud and data residency challenges.
“To create a more diverse cloud ecosystem, business have had to combine different cloud services from multiple cloud providers to meet their unique cloud computing requirements. Though this type of pf cloud deployment facilitates flexibility, scalability, and resilience, it has also introduced specific security-related challenges. managing security across them is complex. “
“Since each cloud provider is operating under separate models and technologies, distributing workloads across multiple clouds or infrastructures can increase complexity and heighten an organization’s security risks. Furthermore, the fragmented nature of multi-cloud environments may lead to gaps that mischievous actors can utilize.
Therefore, as more businesses leverage on the use of multi-cloud environments, the more the need for strong multi-cloud security policies to effectively secure and protect data across multiple cloud environments.”
“For businesses to protect and safeguard their data assets, they must understand the basis of how the public cloud shared responsibility model operates and take responsibility for the security of their cloud data. Moreover, meeting the security concerns of a multi-cloud environment requires a more complete approach involving all-inclusive suite of risk prevention, detection, and mitigation tools that integrates with the multi-cloud services and that can be managed holistically within the enterprise. Businesses are also required to regularly re-evaluate their security practices and choose the right combination of security procedures like encryption, access control, and intrusion detection systems.”
“Meeting regulations such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has become a critical aspect of cloud computing. These regulations present certain requirements that enterprises using multi cloud services must adhere to. These regulations include data residency and autonomy requirements that organizations operating within the space of multiple clouds must comply with. For instance, GDPR is a European Union unified data protection law that regulates handling of personal data within the European Union (EU), and it is a crucial part of the EU’s privacy and human rights law.”
“To ensure compliance, companies adopting multi-cloud computing are working with affected cloud service providers to assess their compliance with relevant governing frameworks and ensuring that appropriate data protection and privacy safeguards are implemented,” he narrated.