As more and more businesses move to the cloud, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the best ways to manage cloud connectivity across a wide area network (WAN). Cloud computing offers many benefits, including increased efficiency, scalability, and cost savings, but it also presents new challenges, such as data egress fees and multi-cloud sprawl. In this article, we will discuss four key things that you should know when managing your cloud connectivity.
Hidden Costs of Cloud Computing
One of the biggest hidden costs of cloud computing is data egress fees. Cloud providers often allow you to store data in the cloud for free, but they charge a fee whenever you retrieve data from the cloud. This can be a significant cost, especially if your business is deploying more and more applications in the cloud. To avoid these fees, it is recommended that you use a private network backbone for direct connection to your cloud services. This will provide a secure and efficient connection between your cloud services and your network, while also reducing the cost of data egress.
Managing Multi-Cloud Sprawl
When using multiple cloud providers, it can be challenging to manage the connectivity between the clouds, sites, and users. Over time, this can result in IT governance challenges, security inconsistencies, and higher costs. To avoid these issues, it is important to work with a service provider that can simplify the connectivity between the clouds. This will help you to consolidate your multi-cloud deployments into a unified networking strategy that includes security and orchestration. A single, common controller and service provider can enhance operational visibility, security, and control across the network.
The Importance of SD-WAN Network Underlay
When moving to a multi-cloud environment, it is important to consider the transport component of your network. Simply overlaying SD-WAN on low-cost broadband is not a solution that will work for every application, user, and location. To ensure optimal performance and avoid congestion and application performance issues, it is important to work with a service provider that can provide a comprehensive solution that supports your different levels of application and performance requirements. This includes both the SD-WAN service and the underlay transport network.
The Importance of Architecture Design
As companies deploy more functions and services in the cloud, it is becoming increasingly important to consider how these functions interact with each other. To design a high-performance multi-cloud architecture, you must consider three levels of architectural design: functional architecture of your applications, data and workload construct, and network design. Your network design should be based on the needs of your business architecture and how it interacts with itself, your users, partners, and external sources. A flexible network underlay that focuses on the mission-critical elements, combined with an overlay solution to manage the whole process end-to-end, can help you to achieve a high-performance multi-cloud architecture.
Conclusion
In conclusion, managing cloud connectivity across a WAN is a complex process that requires a comprehensive approach. By understanding the hidden costs of cloud computing, the challenges of multi-cloud sprawl, the importance of SD-WAN network underlay, and the significance of architecture design, you can ensure that your cloud connectivity is fast, flexible, and fit for the future. To achieve these goals, it is important to work with a service provider, such as Epsilon Telecommunications, that can provide end-to-end guidance and technical support, from solution design to day-to-day operations.
