How partners can create value in a connected multi-cloud environment

Mareike Jacobshagen, head of global business partner programme, DE-CIX, on unlocking value through services

The cloud used to be optional - now it's essential. In fact, it's difficult to think of a single technology that has had a more profound impact on business. Any company out there that isn't at least part way into a digital transformation roadmap involving the cloud isn't even in the game.

According to a recent report published by McKinsey, the majority of businesses are aiming to have roughly 60% of their environment in the cloud by 2025. Many businesses will exceed this target, combining a variety of cloud-based services to drive value for their customers.

This multi-cloud approach is fast becoming the norm. One global survey of more than 6,000 organisations found that 95% of business leaders now agree that multi-cloud architectures are "critical" to business success. More telling, perhaps, is that 52% thought that failing to adopt a multi-cloud architecture would result in business failure. Adopting a multi-cloud architecture has benefits too good to ignore, such as avoiding vendor lock-in, cost optimisation through a "pick and mix" approach to services, reliability, and data security, and, ultimately, flexibility.

Businesses are clear on the benefits but are less clear about how to gain access to them. Almost 9 in 10 (87%) organisations admit that multi-cloud sustainability demands simpler managemen t through mixed cloud infrastructures - something that is notoriously difficult to achieve for even the most established players.

The impetus and momentum for cloud growth are there, but who stands to benefit from this growth? Large hyperscalers like Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services? There's more to this picture.

The transition to a multi-cloud ecosystem will bring value to all stakeholders in the chain, from distributors and managed service providers to systems integrators, consultancies and, of course, the end customer. The cloud market is expansive and will continue to grow, and there's more than enough to go around.

Navigating the multi-cloud environment

The journey into the cloud has evolved significantly for businesses. The initial concern over storing business-critical data in far-off datacentres has been somewhat alleviated as public cloud providers expanded their reach to various geographical regions. However, the focus shouldn't just be on the location of datacentres, but how businesses access their workloads. Managed service providers (MSPs) will play a pivotal role in this aspect - they need to guide their end customers when it comes to optimizing and securing their data flows, especially when the public internet carries such inherent risk.

For business-critical workloads, direct connectivity to the cloud in a way that bypasses the public internet is the way forward. In a multi-cloud environment, traffic flows not just from the customer's premises to the cloud but also between different clouds, so solutions that offer direct inter-cloud connectivity ensure that data doesn't have to be relayed back to the customer's infrastructure each time.

Channelling success

MSPs have made strides in understanding cloud computing, applications, and systems. The next step is to delve deep into the network and connectivity aspects. By acquiring knowledge about IP traffic and connectivity, MSPs can earn the trust of their customers. Put simply, the design of the connectivity should be a primary consideration from the outset of any multi-cloud project. Managing a multi-cloud ecosystem requires careful navigation and orchestration to ensure seamless interoperability between cloud resources, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, and on-premises systems.

Yet, talent shortages remain a significant hurdle, especially when sourcing network engineers. While MSPs should actively seek these professionals, there's also merit in nurturing internal talent. In both cases, channel partners can help. Many will offer a plethora of resources, from webinars to educational videos, to bolster connectivity-related knowledge.

Channel partners are well poised to act as "digital guides", helping companies navigate the multi-cloud landscape in all of its nuance and complexity. But to take on this role, partners need to become more than mere service resellers. Instead, they should be looking to expand their portfolios to offer services in a way that supports MSPs' goals of ensuring unparalleled performance and connectivity.

Instead of re-selling individual services, they can create tailored packages that combine the right cloud resources, applications, and connectivity for their customers' specific needs.

As the cloud continues to evolve and transform businesses, channel partners will play a vital role in helping MSPs to drive innovation, resilience, and success in the multi-cloud ecosystem.