Networks are the intersection of a multi-cloud strategy

The network is a crucial intersection for enterprises embracing a multi-cloud journey.

As enterprises migrate applications to cloud environments, their networks must provide reliable connectivity, support traffic flows and ensure secure access. But legacy network architecture often doesn’t adequately support applications in the cloud, according to industry experts discussing multi-cloud best practices.

One challenge is that enterprises often try to apply their existing data center designs to new cloud strategies, said Neal Secher, vice president and head of network services at TD Bank. But that approach doesn’t translate to proper application performance. “Don’t take legacy patterns, saying, ‘This is how I do it in non-cloud environments, so we’re going to conform it to cloud,'” Secher said.

Instead, enterprises should rethink how they marry applications and the network, determining what the applications need for performance, capacity and security and which services the cloud providers natively support. Then, they can build down the stack to the network and avoid extending the legacy network to the applications, said Johna Till Johnson, CEO and founder of Nemertes Research.

Standardization vs. customization

A vital factor in multi-cloud strategies is the consideration of standardization versus customization when moving to a cloud environment. Each cloud provider offers its own set of differentiated features and services, and how enterprises host applications depends on design patterns that vary based on those features.

For example, some enterprises might opt to host an application with one cloud provider because it best matches that application’s use case, following a distributed deployment design pattern. Others might prefer to use redundant deployment patterns in which they deploy the same applications in multiple computing environments. The decision depends on use cases, provider capabilities and business requirements.

While enterprises can customize their multi-cloud designs, they should first standardize their architecture and deployment in a way that enables efficiency. As Shafeeq Shaikh, head of global network architecture, engineering and automation at Johnson & Johnson Healthcare, said, companies should standardize where they can and customize where they must.

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