{"id":19184,"date":"2023-02-09T10:35:44","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T16:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sterling.com\/?p=19184"},"modified":"2023-02-09T10:35:44","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T16:35:44","slug":"decryptingcloud-part2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sterling.com\/stargazer\/?p=19184","title":{"rendered":"Decrypting Cloud for the Future – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nathan Bennett \u00a0<\/em>
\nCloud Practice Lead<\/em><\/p>\n

In this three-part future-feature journey, we\u2019ll look at the connections between \u201ccloud,\u201d \u201cmulti-cloud,\u201d and even more nebulous terms, like \u201csuper-cloud.\u201d We\u2019ll start at the basics, talking first about what is meant by \u201ccloud,\u201d and then build on that inquiry so we can better understand the new terms and determine whether they are \u2018new\u2019 at all.<\/em><\/p>\n

My previous blog covered what \u201ccloud\u201d really means. Discerning how \u201ccloud\u201d is used in a written or spoken context is a first step, but the real definition I\u2019m developing is the premise that \u201ccloud\u201d is built around a \u201cself-service portal.\u201d This in turn will build toward \u201cmulti-cloud,\u201d and finally, in Part Three, I\u2019ll take a look at the near future and \u201csuper-cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multi-Cloud<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because you can see clearly now on \u201ccloud\u201d [after Part One of this blog] [hyperlink on \u2018blog\u2019], \u201cmulti-cloud\u201d should be easy to understand. It means what it says: \u201cmore than one cloud.\u201d So, if you have a private cloud and also use a public cloud, you are a multi-cloud customer. There is more to unpack here, however, as multi-cloud can also be defined as multiple cloud services<\/em>. \u201cCloud services\u201d may make \u201ccloud\u201d seem a little fuzzy again, but I\u2019ll always refer to \u201cself-service platform\u201d as essential to the definition of \u201ccloud.\u201d If you\u2019re accessing a self-service platform for your IT software or solution\/s, then I\u2019d say you\u2019re ok to call what you have \u201ccloud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granted, things get foggier when you bring up a service like Microsoft 365. Some will say it\u2019s a model \u2014 not \u201ccloud\u201d \u2014 because it doesn\u2019t include infrastructure. However, the concept behind Microsoft 365 is that of an SaaS \u2014 a self-service platform that allows access to multiple pieces of software while also granting identity management. \u00a0That\u2019s pretty much \u201ccloud\u201d to me. Notice that this definition also opens the field to many other \u201ccloud\u201d vendors. Anything running a software model that allows you to configure it in a self-service way (but not manage it) and that also runs on a platform you do or do not own, is a cloud service. Clear as a blue sky? I\u2019ll repeat: If a resource can be granted via self-service, provided by a platform, then it is a cloud.<\/p>\n

Other \u201cCloud\u201d Terms<\/strong><\/p>\n

This leads to other cloud-based terms, such as \u201cpoly-cloud\u201d or \u201chyper-cloud,\u201d in which clouds are defined by how you consume them and the service\/s you utilize. Once we\u2019ve clarified \u201ccloud\u201d and \u201cmulti-cloud,\u201d we start understanding cloud not in terms of where <\/em>it is consumed but how<\/em>. Understanding how your organization consumes cloud is a great thing because you can start viewing \u201ccloud\u201d less by what it is and more by what it does<\/em> for your organization. The battle-cry of yesteryear (\u201cWe\u2019re going to the cloud!\u201d) is going away and is being replaced by terms like \u201ccloud-smart\u201d and \u201ccloud-specific,\u201d which indicate not that you\u2019re moving information to some other location, but that you are specifically picking and choosing what services you need and will adopt for your enterprise.<\/p>\n

Microsoft 365 is, again, a great story in this cloud journey. Did anyone ever love managing their email server? All the different components needed to keep it running created so many frustrations. I remember staying up late many nights, hoping to fix the email proxy because the region it covered was down and the execs were crying for blood. Then Microsoft comes along and says, \u201cOh, let us<\/em> do that for you,\u201d and IT folks jumped at the offer. The solution just fit. It allowed clients access to their productivity software suite, granted domain access for identity management and single-sign-on (SSO) authentication for multiple areas, and has nearly made the email-admin role go extinct (it is still around, but much reduced).<\/p>\n

So, it makes sense that many organizations utilize the Microsoft 365 cloud service. The problem comes, however, when you\u2019re consuming Microsoft 365 and have to figure out how to make that identity work in GCP (Google Computing Services\/Google Cloud) or AWS (Amazon Workspace). That problem is the same when you are consuming AWS, and the identity provider doesn\u2019t work with the domain you have provisioned. Complexity again rules, and the idea of \u201ccloud-smart\u201d becomes more difficult to achieve.<\/p>\n

\"Chart<\/p>\n

Making multiple services cooperate with each other involves more and more complexity. For instance, I need databases, so I might use AWS Aurora, but I also need identity, so I might use Microsoft 365. Then I need data analytics, so I might use GCP BigQuery. Multiple clouds, different services, but they don\u2019t connect easily. The question \u201cHow do we connect these together?<\/em>\u201d floats up, which will lead us into a future state, which may not be too far off in \u201csuper-cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By Nathan Bennett \u00a0 Cloud Practice Lead In this three-part future-feature journey, we\u2019ll look at the connections between \u201ccloud,\u201d \u201cmulti-cloud,\u201d and even more nebulous terms, like \u201csuper-cloud.\u201d We\u2019ll start at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,14],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-19184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-cloud","tag-cloud"],"yoast_head":"\nDecrypting Cloud for the Future - Part 2 - Sterling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Decrypting Cloud for the Future - Part 2 - Sterling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Nathan Bennett \u00a0 Cloud Practice Lead In this three-part future-feature journey, we\u2019ll look at the connections between \u201ccloud,\u201d \u201cmulti-cloud,\u201d and even more nebulous terms, like \u201csuper-cloud.\u201d We\u2019ll start at […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sterling.com\/stargazer\/?p=19184\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sterling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/SterlingComp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-09T16:35:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sterling.com\/stargazer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/decrypt-cloud2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sterling\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sterlingcomp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sterlingcomp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sterling\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/?p=19184#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/?p=19184\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sterling\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b812a18f3a1e77cd0925429d1546e49d\"},\"headline\":\"Decrypting Cloud for the Future – Part 2\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-09T16:35:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/?p=19184\"},\"wordCount\":802,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/?p=19184#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/decrypt-cloud2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cloud\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\",\"Cloud\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/?p=19184\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sterling.com\\\/stargazer\\\/?p=19184\",\"name\":\"Decrypting Cloud for the Future - 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