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How to let your cloud orchestra play in symphony

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The use of clouds and cloud services has proliferated across most organizations. That requires an orchestrated multicloud management. Why? Because organizations that use and expand their cloud environment in a smart, strategic way can position themselves for greater competitive advantage and lower costs.

Many employees rely upon a variety of cloud applications for their daily work. Product developers use cloud-based services to speed their proof-of-concept development, marketeers to entice buyers and sales teams to manage their leads. Now wonder the underlying cloud environments are proliferating at a fast rate. And this growth is not yet at its peak: 85% of the respondents in a recent IBM survey are using multicloud environments and 98% plan to use multiple hybrid clouds within three years.

The research

To gain insights in the use of multicloud environments, IBM surveyed 1,106 executives across nineteen industries and twenty countries. They were asked why they are moving towards a multicloud environment and how they are tackling this. The most important answers and findings are summarized in the IBM Cloud Orchestra executive report: a 20-pages survey including benefits, tips, best practices and a roadmap about building an orchestrated multicloud.

Benefits of multicloud management

Why are organizations adopting the multicloud? The survey differentiates three key business dimensions: strategy, operations and infrastructure. In each dimension the most common driver is cost reduction. In the strategic and operational dimension this regards operating costs (66%) and in the infrastructure dimension infrastructure costs (65%). A logical consequence is that managing the costs is also the biggest challenge (63%).

Multicloud maestros

In the survey IBM identifies multicloud maestros: organizations that are already using multiple clouds to smoothly and routinely deliver one or more business functions. Multicloud maestros outperform on key metrics, including growing revenues, profitability, efficiency and effectiveness in achieving objectives. How are these maestros planning to use cloud by 2021 for business activities? The survey shows and structures their plans in a heatmap for the most important business aspects like technical infrastructure, finance and accounting, HR and design and production.

Building blocks

A modular approach is the best way to successfully realize an orchestrated multicloud. For that reason, many respondents are using technical and management building blocks. The survey describes the key blocks like cloud management platforms, containers, micro-services, virtual machines and serverless cloud services.

Roadmap

As a conclusion, the survey offers a roadmap to successfully harmonize a multicloud environment. This path towards a multicloud management symphony is based on the research and advise from multicloud masters and IBM cloud experts. The circular roadmap contains five steps which your organization can repeat for a continuous cloud evolution.

How will you assemble your optimal cloud orchestra? The IBM Cloud Orchestra survey will help you to determine the path that suits you best with best practices, insights and tips from experts and multicloud maestros; all the basics you need to know to develop your business from a proliferated cloud environment to harmonized cloud orchestra.

Do you want to orchestrate your cloud for more efficiency and a greater competitive edge?

Download the executive report

Product Marketing Manager, Cloud & Data

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