Enterprises can leverage cloud-tiering functionalities to store critical data in private or on-premises while storing less frequented data on public cloud. This reduces the cost incurred in storing and accessing the cloud. Another strategy could be prioritising primary data on fast-access cloud storage while using cloud tiering to store redundant data. Executives from Cloud Box, Denodo, Qlik, Pure Storage, Seagate, share their perspectives.
Ranjith Kaippada, Managing Director, Cloud Box Technologies
As multi-cloud architectures can introduce security challenges, implementing a zero-trust model ensures only authorised people get access to data.
Failing to keep up with the intricacies of managing multi-cloud architecture may round up businesses running aground as there is a major cost involved. However, enterprises can still use techniques and cost-effective strategies to manage their data storage across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments while controlling the overall cost incurred.
One of the effective strategies when moving towards multi-cloud architectures is to use a data fabric strategy. It lets you store, access, manage, and have better control over data sourced from various repositories and applications. It is effective in reducing data silos providing the agility enterprises would need when moving and managing data between environments.
Enterprises can leverage cloud-tiering functionalities to store critical data in private or on-premises while storing less frequented data on public cloud. This reduces the cost incurred in storing and accessing the cloud. Another strategy could be prioritising primary data on fast-access cloud storage while using cloud tiering to store redundant data.
Edge computing is another technique that enterprises can adopt, availing faster access to data bearing proximity to data at the point of consumption. As multi-cloud architectures can introduce a series of security challenges, implementing a zero-trust model ensures that only authorised people get access to the data.
It does not just save the data from prying eyes but also reduces the instances of users accessing data which is another cost added on account of utilising cloud storage.
Alexey Sidorov, Data Science Guru and Chief Evangelist, Denodo
The Denodo Platform leverages a logical approach to data management, rather than a traditional, physical approach, to solve this problem. Using this approach, the Denodo Platform establishes a logical abstraction layer across all cloud data assets, which enables immediate integration and access to any dataset without needing to first copy or replicate it.
When a user connects to data and requests it, the Denodo Platform retrieves that data from one or more cloud systems in real time, integrates it into business-friendly views, and delivers it to the user.
With a broad set of data delivery options, including JDBC, ODBC, ADO.NET, SOAP, RESTful web services, OData, GraphQL, GeoJSON, exports to Microsoft Excel, SQL, Tableau Data Extracts, and JMS message queues, users can access data in their preferred ways.
With support for retrieval augmented generation, RAG, the Denodo Platform enables organisations to provide their AI applications with trusted data from all their cloud systems, simultaneously. And finally, with support for natural-language queries and AI-powered assistance, the Denodo Platform makes it easy to leverage multicloud data for advanced modern use cases.
Organisations can transfer all of the data from each of their cloud systems into a single data lakehouse, but not only would this be prohibitively expensive, due to the aforementioned egress charges, but it would not even solve the problem, as the data will still be formatted in multiple, proprietary ways, inhibiting easy access for reporting or delivering the data in a unified, governed fashion, to an AI application.
Tejas Mehta, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Middle East and Africa, Qlik
Integration and interoperability are at the heart of any successful multi-cloud strategy. The ability to connect seamlessly across different cloud environments avoids vendor lock-in and enables organisations to leverage the unique benefits of each platform. This requires robust data integration solutions that can manage real-time data movement, transformation, and synchronisation.
As multi-cloud setups span international borders, adhering to local regulatory requirements while maintaining global operational integrity is essential. Effective data governance not only secures information but also fosters trust, a crucial component for business continuity in an increasingly interconnected digital world.
Scalability and flexibility are key advantages of a multi-cloud architecture. As businesses scale, their data needs grow exponentially, and an effective multi-cloud setup should accommodate this without causing friction.
Leveraging cloud-native solutions, containers, and microservices can help organisations dynamically scale resources up or down, ensuring optimal performance regardless of workload fluctuations. For enterprises in the Middle East, where market conditions can shift rapidly, this kind of agility is indispensable. Cost optimisation is another crucial aspect.
However, managing costs in a multi-cloud setup demands continuous oversight and smart resource allocation. Automation tools and cost monitoring solutions can play a significant role, providing insights that help businesses optimise their cloud spending without compromising on performance.
An agile and cost-effective multi-cloud strategy in the region hinges on seamless integration, robust security, scalable infrastructure, and strategic cost management. By adopting a comprehensive approach, enterprises can capitalise on the flexibility and resilience of multi-cloud environments, driving innovation while maintaining control over their data assets.
Fred Lherault, Field CTO, EMEA Emerging, Pure Storage
The future of storage management centres on customer-set storage performance profiles selected via self-service or entirely automated in the application environment via storage-as-code and orchestrators. Smart IT organisations will transform the role of the storage administrator to look like a product manager. This means defining storage products through abstract concepts such as storage classes and policies.
This also means enabling self-service by the organisations’ internal customers and orchestration platforms rather than being the person that provisions storage objects, leaving the new storage product manager free to manage fleets of devices rather than individual storage arrays, monitor the use of the existing services and create new offerings.
To enable this cloud operating model, some storage vendors can offer platforms with which storage admins can manage and add capacity to their fleet of storage devices non-disruptively, as well as define classes of storage, policies, and availability zones to be made available to their consumers.
Meanwhile, developers that use infrastructure-as-code platforms can specify the class of storage they want for an application, code it into templates, evaluate it and deploy it.
For fully automated containerised environments, businesses should look for the enterprise-grade Kubernetes data platform for modern applications. This will provide storage management for Kubernetes clusters with automated deployment and scaling of persistent storage, plus data protection.
Some solutions even include data services on top of this, such as a curated set of databases for use in Kubernetes environments, which deploy with just one click of a button, saving a huge amount of time for developers.
Note however that enabling self-service while still being dependent on long purchasing and delivery cycles leaves the organisation open to risk. Fully embracing these concepts means consuming the underlying storage platforms as-a-Service, to enable rapid scale where needed, enable flexibility, but also avoid investing in hardware ahead of when it is needed.
Businesses should look not only at vendor’s technology but also their ability to provide their platforms through flexible, on-demand consumption models.
Some storage vendors can indeed offer all the above; the benefit of working with a single storage supplier is that integrated product sets create efficiencies all through the stack. All flash storage arrays linked across a single operating environment means workloads can be managed at scale across the business from a single view, seamlessly alongside a Kubernetes data platform and all the self-service storage functionality a modern business needs.
Collaborating with a vendor that can offer all of this through a flexible, SLA-backed storage as-a-Service offering that feature guarantees around energy usage, zero data migrations and non-disruptive upgrades is the key to achieving seamless, modern storage management.
Mohit Pandey, Head of Sales, Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, Seagate Technology
Managing a public cloud involves a combination of strategic planning, continuous optimisation, and a commitment to best practices for data encryption, access controls, and identity management. Through well-defined objectives, embracing automation, prioritising security, and optimising resources, businesses can unlock the full potential of the public cloud.
Public cloud offers businesses the ability to scale storage and compute resources on demand. This pay-as-you-go model ensures businesses only pay for what they use, eliminating wasted resources and fostering efficiency. Furthermore, these platforms offer seamless integration with technologies like AI and edge computing, combined with advanced storage solutions which enhance data accessibility, secure backup, and recovery options. This flexibility, translates to significant cost savings for businesses.
While public cloud platforms offer exciting benefits, among them increased flexibility and cost reduction, they also present storage related challenges. Migrating large masses of data from legacy systems to cloud environments can be complex, particularly when it comes to questions of compatibility, compliance and scalability.
Enterprises attempting to modernise storage applications through a cloud migration, or those juggling the management of two clouds within a multicloud environment, can experience an influx of fees associated with transferring, storing, accessing, reading, and writing data.
Against the backdrop of rapidly changing computing demands, enterprises need strong cloud storage architecture and management to thrive. A well-designed cloud infrastructure, combined with the skilled IT professionals needed to manage it, is essential to ensure top-notch security, performance, and scalability, aligned with your business goals.
Critical to this is an understanding of how to optimise data storage, including backup solutions and disaster recovery strategies across public, private, and hybrid environments to achieve performance and cost goals. Proper governance and compliance are also essential.
Professionals who understand cloud governance frameworks, auditing, and compliance monitoring are vital to avoid costly missteps. Automation and DevOps practices are game changers.
In response, there are Storage-as-a-Service solutions available with no additional fees that make pricing simple, scalable, and predictable. They ensure that there are no vendor lock-ins and enable enterprises to have their data processed by any public-cloud service as the need to scale storage fluctuates.
Security and privacy are also paramount concerns when it comes to the public cloud, with data breaches and compliance issues posing significant threats and challenges. Deploying a Storage-as-a-Service model ensures you have security, resiliency, redundancy, and data recovery built in, with data encrypted both during transmission and while at rest, ensuring only authorised users can access the information.
