The Best Approach to Cloud: Date, Don’t Marry

A 25-year veteran in the IT industry, Fredrik Schmidt is responsible for driving the development of innovative cloud products and solutions at Accelerite.

Choosing the right cloud provider for data migration is a stressful task. With so many players in the market, it’s difficult to pick just one to lock-in for a long-term relationship. Luckily, businesses no longer have to “put a ring on it” with their first cloud choice — they have the option to date a few at the same time.

Today’s application and data replication solutions now allow for migration across multiple clouds, which is useful when attempting to completely avoid disaster. Much like businesses would host data on both onsite and offsite data centers, they can now push data to multiple clouds. Here are a few reasons why “cloud dating” is the best bet for protecting data:

You’ll Never Have to Face That Scary C-Word: Commitment

Not happy with one cloud’s performance or service? No problem — it’s on to the next. If you’re taking a multi-cloud approach, your options are wide-open. You never have to worry about the commitment you’ve made to your one-and-only cloud partner (and the restrictions that come along with it), because really, you haven’t made one.

Dating is a time to learn about someone, determining your likes and dislikes. With the proper replication solution, you can try a cloud out for a short period, and if something peeves you, you can move right along to another. It should also be noted that at their core, most applications are different from one another, and which cloud they should date might be different. Not all clouds are created equally, and in fact they can be grouped by their performance, cost, and other derivatives that set them apart.

You’ll Never Have to Break Your Vows ...

Because there won’t be any. And even if there were, there’s no cheating or jealousy in cloud dating, unlike actual dating. You can be free to explore multiple relationships simultaneously without ever having to worry about breaking any promises you’ve made to any of the clouds in which you’re involved.

You may like that one cloud has higher security provisions, while another has an easier failover process. Use one cloud for a handful of needs, and combine with other clouds for other qualities. No one cloud can manage every facet of your business exactly as you’d like, so pick and choose clouds for specific needs, not overall ability.

What’s great about cloud dating is that it’s a no-harm, no-foul situation. You’ve never said your vows, so shack up with a few of them and reap all the benefits.

You’ll Never Have to Go Through Divorce

When you get married, you integrate your whole life with your spouse’s — that includes your belongings. Similarly, when you sign a long-term contract with just one cloud, your apps and data get cozy in their new home. And if the relationship goes sour, separating is a giant mess. You’ll likely find that migrating your data is going to be quite time-consuming and costly.

We all know the story of two people getting married too fast, before they’ve had a chance to see the “real” version of each other. They fall in love with someone who’s on their best behavior (like, ahem, the beginnings of a cloud partnership), only to realize their new partner doesn’t exactly live up to the image they originally portrayed. Inevitably, they become unhappy in the relationship and begin to look for an exit plan.

With the right application and data replication tool, this isn’t a problem. You can move out quickly and easily, and be back on the dating scene in no time.

A multi-cloud framework — a tool that allows users to manage their multiple cloud dates — is the smartest plan for those looking to spend a considerable amount of time in the cloud. To use another analogy, in this way, you can have your cake and eat it, too.

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