Mastering the hybrid multicloud maze: Unveiling data visibility and control in APAC

Mastering the hybrid multi-cloud maze: Unveiling data visibility and control in APAC

The rapid adoption of hybrid multi-cloud models by organizations in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region presents challenges related to data visibility and control across diverse IT environments. According to the fifth annual Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) report, only 36% of IT teams in the APJ region have full visibility into where all their data resides.

Companies face obstacles such as data silos, security and compliance issues, data management complexities, and a lack of visibility. Tech Wire Asia had the opportunity to sit down with Han Chon, Managing Director ASEAN at Nutanix, to explore these challenges and discuss how organizations can address them effectively.

As data is stored across multiple clouds and on-premises systems, managing, consolidating, and analyzing it effectively becomes increasingly difficult. This often results in the formation of data silos, which can hinder business operations. According to Chon, organizations can overcome this challenge by adopting a single, unified platform that provides a centralized view of all data and applications across diverse IT environments.

“Implementing a standardized data collection strategy can also help businesses gather data from all devices and platforms and establish a secure, reliable, and scalable data pipeline connecting edge devices, core systems, and cloud infrastructure,” he explained.

Maintaining uniform security across hybrid multi-cloud environments

Ensuring consistent security and compliance policies across multiple environments is a daunting task, particularly for multinational companies. Different countries have their own regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in Singapore.

According to Chon, these regulations pose challenges to data security and compliance. To address these issues, organizations should encrypt data in transit and at rest throughout their cloud infrastructure, regularly monitor and audit cloud environments, and adopt a Zero Trust approach to cybersecurity.

Mastering the hybrid multicloud maze: Unveiling data visibility and control in APAC

Han Chon, Managing Director ASEAN, Nutanix

“APJ organizations lag behind their global counterparts in the Americas and EMEA when it comes to visibility into their data,” emphasized Chon. The ECI report reveals that only 36% of APJ respondents had full visibility into their data, compared to 40% in the Americas and 44% in EMEA. Singapore, however, outperforms other APJ countries, with 61% of IT teams having complete visibility into their data storage.

“To ensure a secure and safe cloud infrastructure, organizations should partner with experienced cloud service providers that can help protect sensitive data through their skills, expertise, and procedures. An example of this is MaxMoney, a Malaysian company that implemented Nutanix’s private cloud infrastructure to enhance digital service response times and better safeguard sensitive data,” Chon said.

Managing cloud costs is a significant challenge for 86% of APJ respondents in the ECI research. Organizations can mitigate these challenges by gaining better visibility into their cloud consumption and costs, identifying idle or underutilized resources, and adopting a hybrid multi-cloud strategy that allows them to leverage multiple cloud providers and avoid vendor lock-in.

As sustainability becomes a growing IT priority in the APAC region, hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) can help organizations reduce their carbon footprint by consolidating multiple IT infrastructure components into a single, integrated system. This lowers energy consumption and carbon emissions by reducing the number of physical servers, storage devices, and networking equipment required. For example, Olam, a food and agricultural business headquartered in Singapore, successfully reduced its infrastructure spending by 30% and increased server utilization from 20-30% to 70% by implementing Nutanix’s HCI solution.

Customer success stories in Southeast Asia

Nutanix has collaborated with customers across various industries in Southeast Asia to implement hybrid multi-cloud strategies and address challenges in cloud costs, data visibility, and more. For example, Kuala Lumpur-based Tranglo, a cross-border money and prepaid credit hub, successfully migrated to the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform to address its rising public cloud costs. As a result, the company processed three times more transactions and reduced IT costs by 50% compared to the public cloud. Chon stated that the savings enabled Tranglo to invest in hiring more employees and enhancing skill sets, leading to even greater productivity.

“In Singapore, content technology company Straive faced rapid growth and required high-performance IT infrastructure to overcome data silos, segregated storage, and networking impediments,” he added. “By deploying the Nutanix cloud Platform, Straive was able to effortlessly move workloads between on-premises and public cloud environments.”

Employees gained quicker access to the applications they needed for their work, resulting in increased productivity and satisfaction. Overall, the implementation of the Nutanix cloud Platform enabled Straive to meet IT requirements proactively and streamline their operations.

In conclusion, organizations in the APAC region can overcome the challenges of data visibility and control in hybrid multi-cloud environments by adopting a single, unified platform, implementing standardized data collection strategies, ensuring security and compliance, and partnering with experienced cloud service providers.

Additionally, leveraging hyperconverged infrastructure can help businesses reduce their carbon footprint and achieve greater efficiency and performance. By addressing these challenges, companies in the APAC region can unlock the full potential of hybrid multi-cloud environments and drive growth and innovation in the ever-evolving digital landscape.