Multi-cloud vs hybrid cloud: key differences and tips

Cloud services allow businesses not to be limited to the choice of a single cloud, offering hybrid and multi-cloud options. Research conducted by Statista showed that most businesses prefer to choose mixed cloud models. But how to determine which cloud approach will suit your enterprise? What to pay attention to when analyzing different cloud models? Let's compare multi-cloud vs hybrid cloud strategies to find out how to make an informed decision.

What is a hybrid cloud?

A hybrid cloud is a mixed cloud infrastructure model that integrates private and public clouds. It enables companies to store and manage sensitive data in a private cloud while using the scalable resources of a public cloud for less critical operations. A hybrid cloud can also include on-premises infrastructure, integrating all the environments in a unified space where they interact, communicate, and handle the same IT workloads.

The leading benefit of the hybrid cloud is its increased flexibility. Organizations can quickly scale operations to meet sudden spikes in demand by temporarily leveraging additional public cloud resources, avoiding the need for expensive hardware investments. In addition, the hybrid cloud provides better data control, as sensitive information can be stored locally or in a private cloud.

What is multi-cloud?

Multi-cloud is a cloud computing model that enables organizations to simultaneously use services from multiple public cloud providers for various tasks like data storage, processing, or application hosting. By leveraging the benefits of different cloud providers, enterprises can minimize the risks associated with relying on a single provider. This setup allows organizations to centrally manage their cloud services and move workloads between providers as needed.

The multi-cloud model goes beyond diversification and focuses on cloud optimization. By utilizing multiple cloud services, businesses can benefit from each provider's unique strengths, ensuring optimal performance for various tasks. This model also has some challenges, including the complexity of management, security considerations, the risk of overspending costs on different providers, and interoperability concerns.

Hybrid cloud vs multi-cloud: key differences

Multi-cloud vs hybrid cloud models offer different pros and cons. Let's explore their main differences:

Cost-effectiveness

Utilizing a hybrid cloud model may incur high upfront costs for purchasing on-premises computer systems, storage, and software. Thus, it requires initial capital investment.

On the other hand, multi-cloud solutions involve a payment model similar to subscribing to cloud services for a specified time. Moreover, selecting services from different public cloud providers based on cost-performance analysis allows multi-cloud users to benefit from competitive pricing. However, there is also a risk of overspending on each cloud platform, so you should precisely monitor the resource usage.

Complexity and management

A hybrid cloud infrastructure is simpler to manage as private, public, and on-premises environments are seamlessly interconnected (assuming a single cloud hybrid infrastructure). It gives businesses better control over sensitive data or critical applications, especially using a unified management console. On the other hand, the private cloud and on-premises infrastructure components require constant management from the company's side to ensure hardware, performance, and security are maintained effectively.

Comparing the complexity of hybrid vs multi-cloud infrastructure, the latter requires less control from the in-house team because cloud providers are responsible for services and storage. However, multi-cloud architecture is more complex as you have to plan and distribute various environmental tools, technologies, services, and APIs between different cloud providers.

Availability

High availability is another benefit of the multi-cloud model. Leading cloud providers offer high service levels and guarantees to provide companies with business-critical uptime. Distributing your workloads across different cloud providers minimizes the impact on your network and business operations in case any single provider experiences an outage or service disruption.

Hybrid clouds are mostly managed by the owner, especially if most of the workloads operate on the private cloud or on-premises. If the private resource goes down, maintenance from in-house engineers will be required. Moreover, it can cause significant downtime if the backup is unavailable. It is essential to note that on-premise setups do not have built-in cloud redundancy by default but can be configured to do so at a considerable cost.

Flexibility

In a multi-cloud environment, you can select the most suitable cloud service from different public cloud providers. This approach helps avoid vendor lock-in, optimize costs, and choose the best cloud service for each workload. Additionally, since you are not restricted to a single cloud vendor, you can scale instantly by selecting a preferred provider for a specific service.

Similarly, the hybrid environment offers the flexibility to keep some data or workloads in a private cloud while using a public one for specific applications. It helps balance costs and security requirements. However, a hybrid cloud will always have more limitations in scalability and require specific configurations that can limit future upgrades.

Data storage

Safe data storage is another important aspect of the hybrid environment in the multi-cloud vs hybrid cloud differences. Private cloud resources allow companies to manage and secure critical, regulated data, while public clouds can handle less sensitive tasks. The hybrid environment ensures compliance for data safety but often has limitations related to uptime and disaster recovery.

On the other hand, the multi-cloud model offers extensive data storage capabilities across multiple cloud providers. A multi-cloud solution provides virtually limitless storage, robust backups, and extensive disaster recovery options.

Security

A key advantage of the hybrid cloud is that companies can control physical access to their private cloud hardware, which is crucial for highly regulated industries. However, in a hybrid setup, the company is responsible for configuring and managing online access to its private cloud resources.

In contrast, with multi-cloud solutions, physical access is managed by the provider but is generally protected by strong security measures. Cloud vendors invest heavily in cybersecurity, so multi-cloud environments offer advanced protection with streamlined automation, access controls, and encryption.

Read more: Hybrid cloud: How to make it work for banks

Multi-cloud vs hybrid cloud: main factors to consider

When selecting between multi-cloud vs hybrid models, businesses have to weigh some critical factors that must align with their specific needs, workloads, and long-term goals. Here are the key considerations:

• Alignment with business objectives. You should consider what issues you want to solve with the cloud. A hybrid cloud may be the better choice if you aim to follow regulatory requirements for data residency. However, a multi-cloud approach can be a more suitable option if you need more resilience and simplified scalability.
• Budget. Beyond immediate expenses, you should consider long-term factors like migration, management, and vendor-related expenses when comparing financial aspects. A hybrid approach usually requires upfront costs for establishing and maintaining expensive on-premises infrastructure. On the other hand, a multi-cloud approach can lead to increased costs during the management of a complex environment, meeting governance and monitoring requirements, etc.
• Data and regulatory compliance. The importance of data privacy when choosing a cloud solution and data center location depends on your industry and the size of your enterprise. Hybrid clouds are ideal for industries with strict data protection regulations. Non-critical data can be stored in public clouds, which offer highly secure storage when regulatory requirements are less stringent.
• Scalability. A hybrid cloud system might be more challenging to scale than a multi-cloud. The latter will be more suitable for handling traffic peaks or demand surges. However, you can use a hybrid setup with cloud bursting configured, which allows the system to automatically extend to the public cloud during high-demand periods, providing additional resources when needed.

If you have doubts when choosing between a multi-cloud strategy vs hybrid cloud one, an experienced cloud consultant can guide you to the right decision. Moreover, cloud experts can help you design and build a cloud system that can support your environment and coordinate processing, storage, and cybersecurity across multiple platforms or vendors.

How can N-iX help you choose a cloud model?

If you are looking for an experienced cloud consultant, N-iX can be your reliable partner in designing a cloud strategy customized to your business needs. With over 21 years of experience and more than 200 successful cloud projects, N-iX has the necessary expertise in cloud modernization, adoption, architecture redesign, governance, maintenance, and infrastructure configuration. Our team of over 400 cloud experts can help you decide on multi-cloud vs hybrid cloud and plan a detailed roadmap for its implementation. N-iX also partners with the leading cloud providers, being an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, a Microsoft Solutions Partner, and a Google Cloud Platform Partner at the same time. Our company complies with data security standards like PCI DSS, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and GDPR to ensure robust protection during and after cloud adoption.