Page 18 - CARAHSOFT, August 2021

Maximizing the Benefits of Multi-Cloud
A framework for gleaning multi-
cloud insights
Brian Paget
Chief Strategy Officer, SAP National Security Services
or are they potentially drifting out of compliance?
Capitalizing on the security and flexibility of multi-cloud
By constantly monitoring compliance, agencies ensure that the cloud environment is safe and productive. In other words, their data is protected and their employees have the ability to use that data to perform their jobs and achieve mission goals.
In addition, monitoring compliance
and resource optimization is the key to ensuring uptime and appropriate capacity, as well as answering questions about costs. Agencies need to understand how they’re running and operating cloud applications and then make sure they’re applying the right framework for managing security policies.
Furthermore, flexibility and efficiency are central benefits of a multi-cloud environment. Moving on-premises software into such an environment typically requires a complete re-architecting of those applications. Otherwise, the agency could be locked into a contract with a single provider, which often means out-of-control costs or less-than-favorable terms.
Vendor lock-in keeps agencies from benefiting from the flexibility and efficiency gains of a multi-cloud environment. That’s why agencies should consider how to optimize existing apps for a multi-cloud environment and leave their options
open for moving resources whenever and wherever they choose.
The right monitoring approach ensures that agencies reap the rewards of multi-cloud environments
THE COMPLEXITY
OF MANAGING cloud environments has increased exponentially, especially if an agency
has multiple clouds. That’s why it’s essential to have a comprehensive strategy for monitoring all aspects of those environments.
A global management strategy helps agencies understand whether they are running the optimal and most up-to-date version of a cloud provider’s product or service and whether they’re buying it in the optimal way. For example, does a long-term or short-term contract make the most sense
for a particular cloud instance?
IT teams also need to understand how
well resources are utilized. Do they have the right types of resources? Should they switch to something else?
Furthermore, a crucial aspect of multi-cloud management is ensuring that resources and apps comply with government security requirements. Even if a commercial cloud infrastructure has been certified under FedRAMP or other programs, agencies are responsible for protecting whatever runs in that cloud. They must be able to continually ask and then answer a vital question: Are those resources and apps in compliance,
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