Can Start-ups Use Multi-Cloud Strategy Effectively?

One of the biggest challenges to cloud based SaaS start-ups is to ensure high availability as well as performance. There are many cloud providers available in the market currently, right from the large Cloud Hosting platforms (such as Microsoft Azure, Google cloud, AWS, and many others) to the small ones. Not all cloud platforms provide similar performances for comparable services. That’s why making the right choice in selecting the right platform is very important. That is the reason why there has been a rise in the use of combination of cloud service platforms, which is also known as multi-cloud strategy. Per multi-cloud strategy, the best service offered by a cloud platform is chosen in the first step. Secondly, the different services are combined for creation of possible business solutions.

By following this strategy, two important aspects are achieved –

Helps in picking up the best service from the platform that provides it best.
Helps in mitigating downtime risk through intelligent distribution of application throughout different platforms of cloud.

In the year 2017, a report published by Right scale point out that there has been a 3 per cent rise in usage of multi-cloud by the cloud based enterprises. While in 2016, the percentage use of multi-cloud by cloud-based enterprises was 82 per cent, this year it has increased to 85 per cent.

There is no doubt in the fact that extra complexities are involved in the multi cloud format.

Still they have become popular among users because of the simple fact that the larger business organization have budget as well as resources in meeting these complexities. However, the problem that needs to be checked is whether the start-ups are capable of handling multi-cloud strategy, especially when these start-ups suffer from fund, budget, and resource constraints.

Is Multi Cloud Servers Strategy a Good One for Start-ups?

Yes, multi clouds can be very effective solution for start-ups as well as small businesses. This is because of the fact that it ensures best solution for a company. If you start off with a multi-cloud set-up then the strategy will streamline as your company grows and the traffic starts picking up. Even if you don’t adopt the multi-cloud set-up initially, it is very important that you keep this need at the back of your mind. Keeping interoperability in mind is very important especially when you are beginning. This is because of the simple fact that you can save loads of money in mindless migration when there is a need of bigger supplication stack.

We all know that start-ups suffer from budget constraint. However, this is not a problem for the start-ups because every cloud service provider provides credits to companies at any point of time of the life cycle. These credits are given by the service providers to lure start-ups. These credits are very important for the start-ups because they help in the development process of the same, covering up the costs associated with the infrastructure. Some of the known service providers such as AWS, Google, and many more names are known to be offering startups with credit program. Another service offered by the service providers is the free-tier facility for getting started. So, a start-up can go for multi-cloud strategy by picking and choosing hosting solutions appropriately, especially after checking the free-tier and credit facilities. Now, let’s check out the benefits associated with multi-cloud strategy so that the small business owners or managers can know and act accordingly.

What are the Benefits of Multi-Cloud platform Strategy for a Start-up?

The first thing that can be experienced is the minimization of vendor lock-in. It must be kept in mind that the cloud provider that provides you cloud solution at the beginning of the cycle may not be the ideal one when a start-up expands and grows beyond a certain point. In such a case when a business has grown from a start-up to a growing one, they get locked in to the service. It has also been seen in such cases that the highly cheap cloud solution becomes expensive (especially when compared with that of other service providers providing similar services). If you start off with a multi-cloud platform, you will never get locked even when you have grown beyond a certain point.
With multi cloud strategy you can pick and choose from the services that are most efficiently and effectively provided by the service providers. To get the best possible solution, a start-up or a business entity of any size can create a customised solution by availing the best service from the best providing service provider. Therefore, you can get the perfect mix of optimal service and affordability from this solution.
A startup can use NDS routing as well as auto-scaling facilities for your applications so that there can be significant reduction in downtime possibility. Such a design can be done by the small business for either the entire stack or individual service, in accordance with the requirements of a business.

These are the ways through which a business entity can use multi cloud strategy in an effective manner.