Businesses turn to managed multicloud models to address complexity and cybersecurity

With businesses looking to meet ever-evolving requirements and to benefit from the latest technology advances from different providers, multi-cloud environments are becoming the norm. Say goodbye to the days of single public-cloud deployments.

What is multicloud and why are more businesses turning to managed service providers (MSPs) to guide their multicloud journey? Multicloud models make it possible for organizations to select the most-appropriate services from today’s diverse public cloud offerings and integrate them into their ecosystem to achieve their specific goals. And while many organizations continue to rely on the capabilities of at least one public cloud provider for their enterprise workloads, the next frontier is to seamlessly integrate multiple cloud providers and enhance flexibility, resilience, data security, cost optimization, business continuity and efficiency.

Beware – multicloud environments are complex

While a strategic multicloud approach promises to unlock remarkable new benefits, complexity can also unleash potential risks to hybrid infrastructure and business data that’s being distributed across multiple cloud providers. For example, it can be challenging to provide seamless access within a multi-cloud environment. IT teams may need to manage different access control systems, while integrating with the on-premises infrastructure using technologies such as Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML). This challenge can pose risks if not properly implemented. Businesses may also require specific staff expertise, as well as upskilling employees, for the diverse platforms in use, such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform – an approach that can prove costly.

Complexity also arises when organizations use a mix of IaaS, SaaS and PaaS from different providers, since it is not the same use case replicated across providers. For instance, a company can keep their infrastructure and email servers on-premises but choose to use productivity cloud apps like Zoom, GoToMeeting, Atlassian Confluence, or Microsoft 365 for chat, meeting, task management, etc. Finally, employees can install SaaS apps – including unapproved software – on different corporate end-user devices such as smartphones and tablets, making the management of configurations and security cumbersome for the business.

As we are seeing today, without a strategic plan to architect and manage a multicloud environment – ideally with the benefits of managed service providers – innovation can become a costly exercise that fails to deliver on its potential.

Managed service providers are making a difference

As we advise businesses today, it all starts with architecture that will meet the specific and unique needs of your organization. You need to simplify your multicloud architecture and maintain a holistic view of your entire ecosystem. Some organizations will address the need to deliver value faster, for example, while other organizations might be more focused on managing costs or reliability.

While multicloud environments are diverse and often challenging for businesses to manage effectively, MSPs deliver proven experience for a range of client scenarios. They can better support organizations in building, expanding and managing their multicloud environments, providing the right tools and technologies to support workload placement across various platforms and services. Make no mistake – in today’s fast-changing reality, managed services providers are equipped to help organizations integrate public clouds and operate reliably.

A solid operating model to effectively manage multicloud use is therefore imperative and at CGI, we are helping clients in every sector to map out a precise journey using informed insights and proven expertise. We believe our approach and global expertise, our record of exceeding client expectations, and our deep Canadian presence are key differentiators for CGI in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace.

CGI partners with global technology leaders

We partner with over 150 vendors to deliver best-of-breed technology. Our valued partnerships with today’s leading cloud providers delivering best-in-class solutions – including IaaS, PaaS and SaaS deployments – are helping to ensure that every CGI client’s cloud journey is strategic, successful and sustainable.

For a full list of our global alliances, you can visit our Partner Ecosystem page.

Our certified, trained specialists are making a difference. CGI was recently a finalist for the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) awards, within 6 months of joining the alliance. These awards honor MISA members that demonstrate innovation and success across the security landscape over the past year. 

Why trust CGI for managed multicloud services?

Every organization has different needs and objectives. Our goal is to simplify the process and develop a customized multicloud ecosystem that works within the context of each organization.

The IDC Marketspace Canadian Managed Multicloud Services 2024 Vendor Assessment report recently named CGI a major player in Canada for multicloud initiatives that are making a difference in today’s dynamic markets.

We operate at scale across different regions in the world, including Europe, North America, and APAC. Our 7,000+ strategists, architects, developers, and operators help support the cloud journey of each of our clients.

Diverse sectors such as banking, manufacturing, energy and government have different data security and regulatory requirements. We understand the security requirements for various industries and tailor security solutions to what they require, providing unprecedented visibility into all data sources and results. CGI professionals work with you to unlock value across your cloud journey. We bring together timely insights, global experience and proven partnerships to holistically develop your cloud strategy, transform to cloud solutions and optimize your cloud operations. We follow a proven three-step approach:

1. Strategy and planning – We assess your requirements, define the cloud roadmap, understand the impact of your cloud opportunities and establish your cloud foundation.
2. Transform to bring your strategy to life – We guide the migration to multicloud at scale, including platforms like ERP and CRM, to help you respond to changing market conditions with agility, while developing cloud-native apps to keep pace with rapid change.
3. Run and improve the multicloud ecosystem – We work to maximize returns on your cloud investments. Our experts manage and support your operational requirements using a managed cloud service approach that includes: configuration management, monitoring, patching, backup and disaster recovery, identity, access management and security.

With CGI’s end-to-end cloud modernization and transformation services, we help you envision, build, operate and optimize a truly future-fit cloud environment. To learn more about CGI’s market-leading cloud capabilities and expertise as businesses embrace multicloud ecosystems, visit our Canadian Cloud Computing Services page.