6 Multi-Cloud Architecture Designs for an Effective Cloud Strategy

Published on October 26th, 2023

Enterprises are increasingly looking to make use of the flexibility and selection of multiple cloud services to make use of the most efficient cloud development tools and lower the costs for software development. In reality experts from the International Data Corporation predicted in the report Futurescape last year that the use of multi-cloud services will grow dramatically and that over 85 percent of IT companies will be investing in multi-cloud infrastructure in 2020. As the business is accelerating toward digital transformation at a rapid pace, the adoption of cloud services, both private and public cloud has increased. Working with different cloud providers on various platforms poses numerous problems that it leaves behind. Inadequate knowledge regarding cloud computing is one of the primary challenges that CTOs have to deal with.

It is our first of our three-blog series on Multi-Cloud System Architecture. Through this post, you’ll be introduced to the multi-cloud architecture that is designed to meet different needs of organizations. In the following blog, we will discuss ways to manage the Multi-cloud environment efficiently.

Prior to moving on to the Multi-cloud architecture first get a quick understanding of the fundamental cloud design models.

iTechnolabs is a trusted cloud consulting and development company that can assist you in determining the best multi-cloud strategy for your company. To maximize the benefits of multi-clouds, speak to our cloud experts today.

iTechnolabs is a software development company which has deep experience designing everything from simple static one page sites to large, enterprise level web applications that create measurable value for our clients. With our expert team of dedicated developers, we offer a range of services aimed at ensuring the long-term sustainability and optimal performance of your software solutions.

What Does Basic Cloud Architecture Design Look Like?

The cloud architecture design  that is very common on the web is called 3-Tier architecture.

The structure is composed of three principal tiers namely, load Balancer Server, Application Server, Database Server. There is a specific server assigned to each of the tiers.

In the diagram of cloud architecture, for purposes of failover and recuperation, we have utilized redundant servers on each level. This is referred to as redundant three-tier architecture, which is commonly used in production environments. Non-redundant architectures which have only one server per Tier are intended for testing the interactivity between each layer in your app.

This is the simplest one, however you can choose to use another server based on the app. For instance, to provide more rapid backup capabilities to my app, I’ve utilized Striped Volume set at the database level.

How Netflix can manage such a massive collection of video content and offer the best streaming experience without interruptions?

This is due to its multi-data centers located around the globe that backup each other in the event of a disaster. Additionally, streaming from local data centers gives you a better viewing experience.

In the above configuration, it is possible to have multiple datacenters, each one having their own load balancer application tier, tier for tiers and the database Tier.

The most interesting aspect Cloud offers is the broad Auto Scaling feature. This allows you to increase or decrease the number of server resources at any time This is handled by a load balancer. We’ve added Server Arrays to set up the appropriate tier of architecture that will autoscale according to certain alert conditions.

Multi-Cloud Strategy

Multi-cloud strategies involve the concurrent utilization of two or more cloud services, such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and many others.

This means that you can utilize Google cloud to service your US users as well as Microsoft Azure to serve your clients in Europe.

You could also make use of Azure SQL to store your database and Cognito to manage users with Amazon EC2 instances and Load Balancing. All for one application.

Additionally, you are able to run your app entirely through Digital Ocean but is completely replicated and backuped on AWS.

You can run different app on different clouds. You can create your test and development settings on one cloud and your production environment on another.

Multi-cloud management is an additional aspect that involves keeping track of the costs associated with the cloud’s deployment. It is essential to reap the benefits of multi-cloud.

However, to reap the benefits of multi-cloud, it is essential to control and keep track of your cloud deployment and expenses.

Multi-cloud is especially beneficial for businesses that are facing these the surface challenges:

• Users are not in close proximity to any data center, nor are they spread out geographically.
• Regulations that are in force restrict areas the possibility of storing information, e.g., EU.
• Clouds in which public clouds are utilized using on-premises resources.
• Cloud-based applications are not able to withstand the effects of a disaster that can impact the recovery process in case of a single loss of data center.

6 Multi-cloud Architecture Designs You Should Know

To create robust, reliable and scalable applications that are reliable and scalable, a multi-cloud architectural layout is the best choice. Our aim is to provide guidance on architectural design to assist in moving cloud-based systems which run on multiple cloud providers. Let’s look at some of the most prominent multi-cloud structures and migration strategies.

• Cloudification

In this configuration, the application components are hosted on-premise and then, following transfer, it is able to use various cloud services from other cloud platforms to enhance performance.

This the application component C1 is hosted on-premise however after implementing multi-cloud, it makes use of AWS Storage service Amazon S3 and for compute it makes use of Azure virtual machines.

Benefits: Increases accessibility due to applications re-hosting across various cloud platforms. It also helps prevent lock-in by the vendor.

• Multi-Cloud Relocation

In this design, application components are hosted on a cloud platform. It also utilizes other cloud services from various cloud platforms to improve capabilities.

C1 in this application is relocated to the AWS platform following the migration process and can be used to access the environment services offered by Azure. The application is using Amazon S3 for storage and offers compute options using either AWS and Azure.

Benefits: Increases availability due to applications re-host on different cloud platforms. It also helps to prevent lock-in by the vendor.

• Multi-Cloud Refactor

In order to improve the quality of service An on-premise application must be modified to run on multiple cloud platforms. The application must be rebuilt as fine-grained components, to ensure that the deployment of high-usage components could be optimized separately. The deployment of components with high usage can be optimized independent of the ones with low usage. Parallel design allows for more efficient use of multi-cloud platforms.

In this case, AC1 as well as AC2 are two components in an application located on-premise prior to the migration. Since both components are distinct integrity units AC1 runs on AWS by using Amazon S3. In contrast, AC2 is deployed on Azure and is able to use any Azure cloud service in accordance with the requirements.

Benefits: Optimal scalability/performance, range of multi-cloud deployment options, agility to respond to business/IT change.

The challenges: On-premise application is modernized and isolated. Modernization is primarily done because of technical reasons. Component architecture that is identified bottom-up might require re-evaluation due to multi-cloud environments.

• Multi-Cloud Rebinding

The re-architected app is installed in part on several cloud platforms and allows the application to operate using secondary deployments in the event of a malfunction on the main platform.

This is because AC1 is and AC2 are two application components located on-premise prior to moving. Since both components constitute independent integrity units AC1 will remain on premises, while the two AC2 are installed in AWS and Azure to provide disaster recovery. AC1 along with AC2 and two AC2 components are linked through EBS or Service bus.

Benefits: Once unhealthy services get healthier the flow of traffic will be improved and the system’s responsiveness will return to the highest level.

Problems: This architecture can not ensure continuous failover. There is a possibility of downtime.

• Multi-Cloud Rebinding using Cloud Brokerage

A newly designed application is able to be partly deployed on several cloud environments. This lets the application continue to work using a secondary deployment in the event of an issue with the primary platform by using the cloud-based brokerage service.

In this configuration AC1 is deployed on-premise and two new versions of AC2 are placed across two cloud platforms AWS as well as Azure. In this case, Cloud broker services connect the three components and give the ability to choose from a variety of service providers (Cloud platforms AWS and Azure).

Benefits: Once the unhealthy services are restored to health and traffic is delivered, it can be restored and the system’s responsiveness will return to the highest level.

The challenges: This architecture does not provide uninterrupted failover. There is a possibility of downtime.

• Multi-Application Modernization

Different applications on-premises A1/A2, AC1 are re-architected as an array and then deployed in cloud environments.

Advantages This provides uniform information and guidelines for shared components. Lower operating and maintenance costs on shared elements is an additional benefit.

Issues: Lack of business commitment to sharing capabilities.

Multi-cloud vs Hybrid cloud

In the initial glance they may look similar and the terms may be used interchangeably by a few however they’re not identical. In this article, we’ve discussed the distinctions that are subtle, yet quite distinct, in between them.

• Cloud hybrid

Hybrid cloud is a combination of cloud services, both private and public, that connects the cloud public like AWS to your own system on premises and is orchestrated to accomplish a single task. In this situation you’re optimizing your work so that it can run in the correct environment at the appropriate moment. With Hybrid cloud, companies have access to highly elastic computing resources provided by the selected provider to manage the storage of additional work during high-volume times or general day-to-day application. However, all mission-critical data is still on the premises for a variety of reasons such as privacy laws and security.

Why should you implement Hybrid cloud?

Certain use cases companies require a mix of a public and private cloud in order to benefit from the unique advantages provided by these cloud providers.

Businesses can benefit from cloudbusting that lets applications are sent to the public cloud for more computing resources once they have reached an upper limit in the private cloud.

It is sensible for companies to utilize public cloud resources to run the development of a brand new, untested app prior to committing to the capital investment that comes with launching within a private cloud. After defining an ongoing workload pipeline that will run its application, it could decide to move the application onto existing systems.

Cloud users can also utilize hybrid clouds to encourage the concept of high-availability (HA) as well as disaster recovery (DR). For instance, in an event of disaster recovery the company can maintain its recovery environment on an open cloud as well as its production environments on a private cloud capable of spinning up whenever needed. The business replicates its data to the cloud public, however, all other resources are not operational until required.

Hybrid cloud architecture gives the greatest flexibility for meeting the demands of businesses by providing an infrastructure in which IT functions can be automated in order to enhance users’ experience.

• Multi-cloud

Multi-cloud refers to more than one cloud implementation of the identical kind and could be a private or public cloud, with different cloud providers. Businesses use multi-cloud in order to combine and mix a variety of private and public cloud providers to make use of most advanced services and applications.

Multi as well as Hybrid cloud strategies aren’t necessarily exclusive. You can use both at the same time. Actually, most companies are looking to enhance performance and security through the expansion of their cloud environments.

To clarify, multi-cloud architecture differs from multi-tenant architecture. The former we’ve already talked about the latter, referring to the software architecture where one instance of software is run on a server that serves many tenants.

Why should you implement Multi-cloud?

Different multi-cloud scenarios can be used to provide IT teams greater agility and flexibility in managing workloads as well as data.

Multi-cloud provides an environment that is flexible, cloud-based organizations can satisfy specific workload or application requirements – both commercially and technically- by implementing it.

Companies also recognize the advantages of geographic location when having multiple cloud providers to solve issues with app latency. Additionally, certain companies might use specific cloud providers in the short-term to meet short-term goals, and then end their use.

In addition, concerns about vendor lock-in and cloud service outages are two of the issues that are frequently brought up when IT experts advocate for multi-cloud strategies.

Tips for Managing Your Multi-Cloud Environment

Multi-cloud environments come with their challenges–complexity, resources, expertise, cost, and management issues, to name a few–and management seems to be the common denominator.

You’re managing a job that needs large storage and networking resources that are hosted in the cloud of your own. While you’re at it you are also running another task that is running on Amazon’s cloud service, and another one running on Microsoft’s. Each one of them is on the perfect cloud, but you’re now managing multiple cloud providers to manage.

Here are 5 points to consider when creating a successful multi-cloud system.

• Review your entire network and then decide which one of a particular cloud service provider is best for your specific needs to reduce the complexity of your system and the inefficient use of resources.
• Multiple cloud providers increase the amount of low-level maintenance and monitoring. It’s best to automate them.
• Concentrate on standardization of policy which is automatically applied to every cloud environment. These policies cover such topics as storage of data, workloads and traffic flows, virtual servers, compliance/regulations security, and reporting.
• Utilize a data center management software designed specifically for virtual environments. It aids in building a system where your server, network storage, operations, security, and application teams collaborate to achieve the same goals.
• Choose the apps within your company that are suitable for a multi-cloud environment. Contrary to traditional applications cloud-native apps are more flexible and service-oriented. They are the collection of containers and services that are built around a scale-out model. They are also easy for automation, moving and expanding.

Benefits of Multi-cloud Architecture

• Recovery from disasters

It is a risk when an organization uses a single cloud-based platform for managing all its organizational resources. An attack from cybercrime can shut down the entire operation for a prolonged period, leaving the users without access until the issue gets resolved. If you utilize multi-cloud architecture that makes your company’s services more resilient to these kinds of cyber-attacks because there are multiple clouds to handle the load when one cloud is down.

• Avoiding vendor lock-in

The multi-cloud platform enables companies to choose the most suitable services available from each cloud platform, and build a customized infrastructure that is tailored to their specific objectives. Instead of managing business processes according to the specific cloud provider’s configuration and implementation, businesses are able to investigate different providers to find the most suitable solution for their specific business processes.

• Manage data

There are various kinds of data produced by an organization. For instance, some databases require cold storage, which is not frequently used, while hot data that is accessed frequently throughout the day should be stored in frequent-access data storage e.g., Amazon S3 standard storage. Instead of lumping all your data in one cloud, it is possible to diversify to benefit from the appropriate cloud for the appropriate purpose.

• Cloud cost optimization

Before you decide to adopt the Multi Cloud strategy, it is recommended to perform a performance assessment of your applications that are either on premises or in the cloud, and compare the performance of your cloud with what is available in the various cloud. In this way you will know the best options to satisfy your requirements for performance for the least cost. For instance, you could save money by using spot instances of workloads that are designed to be fault-tolerant as well as running old tasks on reserve instances.

• High latency

If users of applications are spread all over the world and data transfers are performed from a one data center, many users may encounter slow response times. There may be delays when data has to pass through multiple nodes before it reaches the end-users. This delay, also known as latency, is inherent to cloud services that are provided by servers located in distant places.

In a multi-cloud system cloud architects can set up data centers in various regions in accordance with user location. The nearest datacenter to users can provide the requested data using a minimum number of server hops. This is particularly useful for companies that are global and need to deliver data from geographically dispersed places while still providing a consistent user experience.

How can iTechnolabs help for Cloud Architecture Design?

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, businesses are increasingly recognizing the importance of embracing cloud computing to stay competitive, agile, and cost-effective. Cloud architecture design plays a pivotal role in this transition, serving as the foundation for an organization’s digital infrastructure. iTechnolabs, a leading technology solutions provider, offers a comprehensive suite of services to help businesses develop robust and efficient cloud architecture designs. In this article, we will explore how iTechnolabs can assist organizations in harnessing the full potential of cloud computing to drive growth, enhance operational efficiency, and foster innovation.

The Significance of Cloud Architecture Design

Cloud architecture design refers to the process of planning, structuring, and implementing an organization’s cloud infrastructure to meet its specific needs and objectives. A well-designed cloud architecture provides numerous advantages, including:

1. Scalability: Cloud architectures are inherently scalable, allowing organizations to seamlessly expand or reduce their resources based on demand. This elasticity enables businesses to respond quickly to changing market conditions and customer needs.
2. Cost Efficiency: Cloud solutions often lead to cost savings by eliminating the need for large upfront investments in hardware and reducing ongoing operational expenses. A well-optimized cloud architecture ensures that resources are used efficiently, avoiding unnecessary expenditure.
3. Reliability and Redundancy: Cloud providers offer high levels of redundancy and fault tolerance, reducing the risk of downtime due to hardware failures or other issues. This ensures consistent service availability, which is crucial for maintaining customer trust.
4. Security: Effective cloud architecture design incorporates robust security measures, including data encryption, access controls, and threat detection. iTechnolabs specializes in implementing security best practices to safeguard sensitive data and applications.
5. Innovation: Cloud architecture enables organizations to experiment with new technologies, implement DevOps practices, and rapidly develop and deploy applications. This fosters a culture of innovation and agility within the organization.

iTechnolabs: Your Cloud Architecture Design Partner

iTechnolabs offers a wide range of services and expertise to help organizations harness the full potential of cloud computing. Here’s how iTechnolabs can assist in developing an effective cloud architecture design:

1. Assessment and Strategy Development: iTechnolabs begins by conducting a thorough assessment of your organization’s existing IT infrastructure, applications, and business goals. Based on this assessment, a customized cloud strategy is developed to meet your specific needs, whether it’s migrating to the cloud, adopting a multi-cloud strategy, or optimizing your current cloud setup.
2. Cloud Platform Selection: With a deep understanding of various cloud providers and their offerings, iTechnolabs assists in selecting the most suitable cloud platform(s) for your organization. This choice is driven by factors such as cost, performance, compliance, and scalability requirements.
3. Architecture Design and Planning: iTechnolabs designs a cloud architecture that aligns with your business goals. This includes defining resource provisioning, network configurations, data storage strategies, and disaster recovery plans. The architecture is optimized for performance, security, and cost-efficiency.
4. Migration and Deployment: iTechnolabs helps facilitate a smooth transition to the cloud, whether it’s lifting and shifting existing applications, refactoring for cloud-native environments, or building new applications from scratch. They manage the migration process to minimize disruption to your operations.
5. Security and Compliance: Security is a top priority in cloud architecture design. iTechnolabs implements robust security measures, including encryption, identity and access management, and continuous monitoring to protect your data and applications. They also ensure compliance with industry-specific regulations and standards.
6. Optimization and Cost Management: iTechnolabs continuously monitors your cloud resources to identify opportunities for optimization. This includes rightsizing instances, automating resource allocation, and implementing cost management strategies to maximize cost-efficiency.
7. Support and Maintenance: iTechnolabs provides ongoing support and maintenance services to ensure the stability and performance of your cloud environment. They proactively address issues, apply updates, and provide 24/7 monitoring to minimize downtime.
8. Training and Knowledge Transfer: iTechnolabs believes in empowering your organization’s internal teams. They offer training programs and knowledge transfer sessions to help your staff manage and optimize the cloud environment effectively.

iTechnolabs’ Impact on Cloud Architecture Design

To illustrate the effectiveness of iTechnolabs cloud architecture design services, let’s examine a few case studies:

1. E-Commerce Retailer: iTechnolabs helped a large e-commerce retailer migrate its online platform to a cloud-native architecture. This resulted in improved scalability, reduced infrastructure costs, and a 30% increase in website performance, leading to higher customer satisfaction and revenue growth.
2. Healthcare Provider: A healthcare provider engaged iTechnolabs to design a HIPAA-compliant cloud architecture for their electronic health record (EHR) system. iTechnolabs’ expertise ensured that patient data remained secure while enabling seamless access for authorized healthcare professionals.
3. Financial Institution: A financial institution turned to iTechnolabs to implement a multi-cloud strategy for enhanced redundancy and disaster recovery. The new architecture reduced downtime risk by 60% and achieved significant cost savings by optimizing resource allocation across multiple cloud providers.

Are you looking for the best company for developing cloud architecture design?

Multi-Cloud architecture offers a platform that allows businesses to create strong and secure cloud environments that are not tied to traditional infrastructure. Making the most of multi-cloud involves tackling the problems that arise from app proliferation, distinct portals as well as migration, compliance and security front-to-front. The principal goal of a multi-cloud strategy is to make use of the most cloud-based options in accordance with specifications to eliminate the disadvantages of using a single cloud from one cloud provider. Although switching between cloud providers in order to accomplish tasks isn’t easy initially, particularly from the beginning cloud providers have been working to make switching between cloud providers more efficient. More efficient this is and it will be the easier multicloud computing can be developed.

In today’s digital age, cloud architecture design is a critical component of an organization’s IT strategy. iTechnolabs, with its expertise, experience, and commitment to excellence, is well-equipped to help businesses develop cloud architecture designs that are scalable, efficient, secure, and aligned with their specific goals. By partnering with iTechnolabs, organizations can unlock the full potential of cloud computing, driving growth, innovation, and operational efficiency in an increasingly competitive landscape.