Embracing multicloud could be the key to business success

Racks of servers inside a data center.
(Image credit: Future)

Companies worldwide are increasingly embracing a multicloud approach to cloud storage, which could now be the key to business success according to storage firm Seagate.

The company defined firms as either “multicloud mature” or not, with the mature firms being better at managing cloud costs and fostering innovation within the cloud.

Seagate claims these “mature” firms have a host of competitive advantages, including beating their revenue goals by nearly twice as much as their less mature counterparts.   

How do multicloud mature firms stack up?

The storage firm’s research suggests that multicloud mature firms are 6.3 times more likely to go to market months or quarters ahead of their competition, and they are almost three times more likely to report that their organization is in a very strong business position.  

In addition, Seagate’s report claims these mature firms are more than three times more likely to expect their companies’ valuation to increase five-fold over the next three years.  

“When trying to prove the connection between actions and outcomes with research, you never really know if your hypothesis will be borne out,” said Adam DeMattia, Senior Director of Custom Research at ESG. “The report makes it clear that an organization, by its actions, can move the needle both on cloud costs and innovation outcomes.”

He added: “What’s unique in this research is how we see the combination of both taking action on cloud costs and promoting innovation with cloud operations models can be tied back to a dramatic impact on the overarching health of the business.”  

It seems many businesses agree with Seagate about the benefits of a multicloud approach. Flexera's new State of the Cloud report revealed that almost all enterprises have embraced multicloud, with 93 percent of companies now using multiple cloud service providers.

Despite IT professionals acknowledging the benefits of multicloud, security risks are still surrounding the technology.

Virtually all (98%) of the security professionals responsible for these multicloud environments report that relying on multiple cloud providers also creates additional security challenges, according to IT security firm Tripwire.

The multicloud space is largely controlled by the select few giants of the cloud hosting world, including Google Cloud, Amazon AWS, and Microsoft Azure.

Will McCurdy has been writing about technology for over five years. He has a wide range of specialities including cybersecurity, fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, cloud computing, payments, artificial intelligence, retail technology, and venture capital investment. He has previously written for AltFi, FStech, Retail Systems, and National Technology News and is an experienced podcast and webinar host, as well as an avid long-form feature writer.