By now, most IT professionals are familiar with different types of cloud architectures – Single Cloud, Multicloud, Private Cloud and so on. Most of the cloud architecture models used today have existed for some time.
But the relevance and popularity of various cloud architectural styles has evolved over the years. Also, the industry has seen the introduction of new cloud architectural concepts, such as PolyCloud, and new takes on the old, like the Hybrid Cloud.
For this reason, it is worth evaluating the state of various cloud architectures today. This article goes on to discuss each major type of cloud architecture, then explain who should and shouldn’t use it.
Single Cloud: An Obsolete Strategy
For a long time, the most common type of cloud architecture was known as a single cloud. A single cloud architecture means that the company’s cloud strategy includes just one cloud platform — specifically, a public cloud platform such as AWS or Microsoft Azure.
Since about 2017, there has been a huge push for businesses to migrate from a single cloud architecture to multicloud. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with using only one cloud today – in fact, there are good reasoning for doing so Single cloud strategies are increasingly looking obsolete, or at least out-of-touch from the point of view of modern cloud computing.
Multcloud: All the Rage
If you’ve moved away from a single cloud architecture, you probably ended up with a multicloud architecture. What is the meaning of multicloud Using two or more public clouds at once,
Multicloud has become the go-to strategy for modern cloud computing for two main reasons: cost-effectiveness and reliability. The more cloud you use, the greater your ability to strike the right balance between performance and cost by picking and choosing a variety of cloud services. More clouds also increase reliability because your workload continues even if one of your clouds fails.
Today, there is multicloud default cloud strategy For most businesses.
Poly Cloud: The New Kid on the Cloud Architecture Block
If multicloud isn’t enough, businesses that want to take advantage of more than one public cloud have a new type of cloud architecture to choose from: poly clouds, Polycloud is when you use multiple public clouds, but run different types of cloud services in each one (unlike multicloud, which involves spreading the same type of workload across multiple clouds).
It is debatable whether polycloud is really different enough from multicloud to qualify as a distinct architectural category. but those who believe boost poly cloud As a way to get maximum flexibility on cloud service features.
I suspect the hype around Poly Cloud will fade in good time. In fact, the poly cloud has always been a distinct concept, promoted by a relatively small group of analysts and architects. But by 2022, PolyCloud is what at least some of the cool kids are embracing to differentiate their cloud strategies.
Hybrid Cloud: Enjoying the Crowd
Hybrid cloud, on the other hand, is an architectural style that is only likely to become more and more popular over the next several years.
Hybrid cloud is a combination of public cloud infrastructure or services or with on-premises resources. Hybrid cloud concept been around for a while, but it has been renovated New Hybrid Cloud Framework From vendors such as Microsoft, AWS, Google and Cisco, which have made it very easy to create hybrid cloud environments and control them through the public cloud.
For now, many hybrid cloud platforms have some drawbacks. They are a bit expensive, for one. For another, some frameworks only work with specific hardware.
But in the realm of hybrid cloud the trend has been towards lower cost, better performance and greater flexibility. Expect to hear more and more about hybrid cloud as public cloud vendors invest even more in providing their customers with excellent hybrid experiences.
Private Cloud: Cloud Architecture is Done
Last – and, possibly, least – on the list of cloud architectures is the private cloud. A private cloud is a cloud environment that operates entirely on private infrastructure.
Once upon a time (specifically, in the earlier 2010s), virtually every enterprise was rushing to build a private cloud using platforms like OpenStack. They did this partly because of false fears that the public cloud would never be secure enough to host all workloads.
But that attitude has largely changed. Today public clouds are not only very secure, but they are also much easier to manage and pay for than running your own private cloud.
Today, it’s getting harder and harder to see good use cases for a private cloud – but you can still easily build one using a platform like OpenStack or Kubernetes.
Conclusion
In short, multicloud and hybrid cloud are where it is in 2022. Poly clouds may also be a big deal, but I doubt it. Single Cloud still makes sense for organizations that prize simplicity in cloud architecture. As far as the private cloud, I suspect we won’t even be talking about that five or 10 years from now.
