Multi-cloud means using more than one public cloud provider, for example running analytics on Google Cloud, core applications on AWS and Microsoft 365 integrations on Azure. It can be deliberate architecture or the result of acquisitions and separate team choices.
Why it matters
Reasons include avoiding vendor lock-in, meeting regional or regulatory requirements, using a specialized service from one provider, and negotiating leverage. It can also reduce the impact of a provider-wide outage if workloads are truly portable. The costs are real: more skills to maintain, differing security models, inconsistent tooling, extra data transfer charges and added operational complexity. Many multi-cloud setups use common layers such as Kubernetes, Terraform and open databases to limit differences.
Example
Primary: AWS (application, database)
Secondary: Google Cloud (BigQuery analytics)
DNS/CDN: independent provider in front of bothA failure of one cloud's region does not automatically move work to another unless that failover is built and tested.
Common mistakes
- Assuming multi-cloud gives resilience without designing and rehearsing failover.
- Using only the lowest common features of each provider and losing their strengths.
- Overlooking cross-cloud egress charges.
Related
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This page is general information written by our editorial team and updated when documentation changes. Servers and providers differ, so test changes safely first. See our editorial policy and disclaimer.