Multicloud networking is the orchestration of cloud service delivery and the extension of cloud services from one enterprise data center to another. By using multiple clouds, businesses can enjoy a host of benefits, including increased agility, improved performance, and enhanced disaster recovery.
SEE: What Is Multicloud Architecture? (TechRepublic)
Multicloud networking defined
Multicloud is not the same as hybrid cloud, which blends the use of private and public cloud environments. Rather, multicloud takes a mixed approach, using the best services from various providers to create a custom solution for an organization’s specific needs. This approach allows organizations to take advantage of the latest innovations from each vendor while avoiding vendor lock-in. Multicloud networking can be complex, but it provides a powerful way to build a custom, scalable, and highly-available cloud infrastructure.
SEE: An Introduction to Multicloud Strategy (TechRepublic)
Common types of multicloud implementations
Siloed apps
Siloed apps are the most common type of implementation, where each application is run on a different cloud. This can be beneficial from a cost perspective, as you can choose the most cost-effective option for each app. However, it can also make management more difficult, as you need to maintain multiple console logins and configurations.
DR/failover
DR/failover is where you have a primary cloud that runs your applications and a secondary cloud that kicks in if the primary goes down. This provides increased redundancy and uptime but can be more expensive to maintain.
Data integration
Data integration involves creating a conduit between two or more clouds in order to allow data to flow between them. This can be done using an intermediary platform, such as an iPaaS, directly connecting the clouds using APIs, web services, or ETL tools.
Workload mobility
Workload mobility is the ability to move workloads — or, in other words, the computing tasks that make up an application — between different cloud environments.
This can be helpful for several reasons. For example, if an organization finds it is using more resources on one cloud than it had originally anticipated, it can quickly and easily move some of its workloads to another provider to avoid overage charges.
Workload mobility can help improve performance and availability by allowing organizations to shift resources to wherever they are needed most at any given time.
It can also help to reduce vendor lock-in. Companies can switch vendors at any point without having to worry about losing access to their data or applications.
Individual apps
If you’re worried about data security or compliance issues, you can keep your data on-premises and run your apps in the public cloud. Alternatively, you can do the reverse and keep your apps on-premises while using the public cloud for storage. The key here is that each application spans both environments, public and private, to take advantage of their benefits.
Cloud bursting
Cloud bursting is when an application that runs on a private cloud or on-premises infrastructure “bursts” to use resources from a public cloud when it requires additional capacity. It can supplement the capacity of on-premises or private cloud data centers during peak demand, providing flexibility and scalability while minimizing costs.
Cloud bursting can be complex to implement and manage, requiring careful planning to avoid performance issues. As a result, it is often used only by large organizations with the resources to manage a complex multicloud environment effectively.
SEE: The Art of Multicloud Deployment (TechRepublic)
Why multicloud networking is necessary
Autonomy
The paradox of cloud adoption is that vendors lock you into their infrastructure by deliberately making it complex and expensive to migrate. Multicloud networking is essential for avoiding this lock-in and maintaining autonomy over one’s infrastructure.
It allows organizations to use multiple vendors for different workloads. This way, if one vendor raises prices or experiences an outage, businesses can simply switch to another provider without incurring significant costs.
It also provides organizations with more control over their data. Businesses can store data in different locations and choose which vendor has access to it. This allows organizations to keep sensitive data off public clouds where it could be vulnerable to hackers.
Less disaster prone
By spreading your data and apps across multiple environments, you’re less likely to experience a total shutdown if one cloud should fail.
Superior security
The cloud has become an essential part of business, but some organizations have been slow to adopt due to concerns about security and loss of control. Vendors have responded with private cloud solutions that offer more visibility and control, but these can be costly and complex to manage. A more promising solution is multicloud networking, which allows businesses to maintain a hybrid cloud environment that combines the best of both worlds: The security of a private cloud with the cost savings of a public cloud.
Low latency
Cloud-based applications are often used by businesses to improve customer experience or create new revenue streams. However, the performance of these apps can be hindered by latency. To ensure optimal performance, businesses are turning to multicloud networking solutions that offer low latency and high throughput.
Data centers closer to end-users can serve requested data with far fewer server hops, which is critical for global companies that need to deliver data across country borders while still providing a consistent end-user experience.
SEE: A Brief History of Cloud Computing (TechRepublic)
Further reading
If you’d like to read more about this topic, there is a wide selection of cloud-related articles at TechRepublic here.
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This article was originally published in August 2022. It was updated by Antony Peyton in July 2025.