Digital transformation has urged organizations across various industries to adopt multi-cloud strategies. They need to find the right balance for security and growth.
By Michael Rostov, Entrepreneur and Co-Founder at Oasis Defender
The adoption of multi-cloud aims to modernize IT infrastructures and carve out a competitive edge. Be it manufacturers, financial institutions, global giants in media and entertainment, or healthcare organizations — many businesses of medium and large caliber find the need to harness two or more clouds.
Business owners choose multi-cloud strategies to escape vendor lock-in, trim down costs, and reduce latency. Using multiple clouds helps them enhance supply chains, increase sales rates, and boost service provisions.
However, the dalliance with multiple clouds amplifies the risks of misconfigurations and human-induced errors in cloud management. Blunders widen the gateway for security vulnerabilities, leading to breaches that may harm the organization’s bottom line and its reputation in the long haul.
Securing Infrastructure Against Breaches With Adequate Multi-Cloud Settings
IBM reported that 19% of data breaches in 2021 resulted from misconfiguring multiple cloud environments. The average financial losses suffered by organizations reached $4.41 million, an amount impressive enough to focus on adopting adequate multi-cloud security strategies.
Both public and private cloud services often lack proper security and management when users make mistakes in setting up access controls, encryption, firewalls, backups, and other security features. So, is there a silver bullet for this concern?
A way forward for holistic security across diverse cloud platforms is centralized cloud management. Innovative solutions can help manage multiple registered clouds via a unified interface. Such solutions also tap into machine learning and AI to spot potential threats in real-time, ensuring swift and effective responses to keep damage to a minimum.
Enhancing Data Protection and Privacy
Protecting data across multi-cloud environments is tough without centralized security controls. Nearly 57% of US organizations report challenges they face trying to comply with corporate policies and regulatory rules. This is often the case for manufacturers and retailers operating globally, as they face strict local and industry-specific regulations.
Centralized security controls give a clear view across cloud providers while offering strong compliance mechanisms. Integrated AI tools and automated systems scan the cloud environment and help meet compliance needs by giving real-time reports and alerts on deviations. By using a unified interface, organizations can tap into steady multi-cloud security policies and top-notch threat protection.
Managing More Clouds While Limited in Talent
A notable 56% of organizations struggle to find the needed skills to manage security in multi-cloud environments.
When an organization steps into a multi-cloud strategy, the team may not be fully ready. They may be unfamiliar with different security features and practices that differ across Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and other cloud services. As a result, doubts arise regarding consistent security policies and adequate protection for sensitive data.
For those lacking cloud skills, an integrated approach comes in handy. AI-driven threat detection simplifies security tasks, reducing the need for specialized knowledge. Continuous upgrades through user feedback make the system smarter over time, without manual tweaking. Besides, collaboration tools help share knowledge, helping less experienced members learn from seasoned experts.
Wrapping Up
Embracing multi-cloud strategies often opens a door to cybersecurity challenges for organizations. Fortunately, there are solutions for unified visualization and configuration of cross-cloud security tools that make cloud management simpler.
With the help of AI and machine learning, these tools auto-detect threats and learn from user feedback to improve security continually. Organizations can then navigate their clouds with ease, making sure data stays safe, secure, and compliant.
About the Author
Michael Rostov is a co-founder of Dubai-based startup Oasis Defender which focuses on developing AI-driven software for unified visualization and configuration of multi-cloud security. He is an entrepreneur and VC with over a decade of experience in the telecom and cybersecurity sectors. Michael can be reached online at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rostov/ and at the company website https://oasisdefender.com/
