Managing multi-cloud metrics is challenging but essential. With 9 out of 10 enterprises using multiple cloud providers, businesses face issues like fragmented tools, inconsistent metrics, and rising costs. These inefficiencies waste up to 21% of cloud budgets, potentially costing £35.6 billion in 2025.
Key challenges include:
Solutions at a glance:
These steps can reduce IT costs by 10–20%, speed up development by 30%, and improve visibility and compliance. For small and medium businesses, adopting these practices is crucial to staying competitive without overspending.
Building on earlier discussions, multi-cloud environments bring unique operational challenges. According to Flexera's 2024 State of the Cloud Report, 87% of enterprises now use multiple cloud providers. For UK-based digital agencies, SaaS startups, and EdTech platforms, these issues are becoming increasingly common.
Cloud providers often use different terms and methodologies to define metrics. For example, what AWS refers to as "CPU Utilisation" might be called "CPU Percentage" in Azure, while GCP has its own terminology. This lack of standardisation complicates efforts to maintain consistent monitoring.
Beyond names, platforms vary in how they measure and report metrics. Time intervals, units of measurement, aggregation methods, and baseline calculations can all differ. For instance, AWS CloudWatch might report latency in milliseconds, whereas Azure Monitor could use seconds. This forces technical teams to constantly convert and reconcile data for accurate comparisons.
Each cloud provider offers its own monitoring tool, leading to fragmented data and disjointed insights:
| Platform | Native Monitoring Tool | Key Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | CloudWatch | Limited visibility into non-AWS resources |
| Azure | Azure Monitor | Primarily focused on Microsoft services |
| GCP | Operations Suite | Restricted integration with other clouds |
Unifying these tools is critical for creating a cohesive monitoring strategy across platforms.
Security monitoring becomes particularly tricky in multi-cloud setups due to differing metrics and controls, especially under the strict UK data regulations. Research shows that 57% of companies in multi-cloud environments struggle with aligning security metrics. Key challenges include:
| Security Challenge | Impact on UK Businesses |
|---|---|
| Visibility Gaps | Incomplete understanding of security posture across clouds |
| Compliance Tracking | Difficulties in maintaining consistent GDPR compliance |
| Incident Response | Slower detection and response to security threats |
| Access Control | Inconsistent management of user privileges across platforms |
"Multi-cloud enablement is at the heart of our transformation strategy and security is paramount. Wiz helps us visualize our entire cloud environment and drive actionable insights, in minutes. They've made cloud security an enabler for Morgan Stanley and helped us break down the barriers between security and development teams."
These hurdles highlight the need for targeted solutions, which will be explored in the following sections.
Let’s dive into how businesses can effectively standardise and manage metrics across multi-cloud environments. According to recent data, over 60% of organisations have successfully reduced Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR) by adopting mature observability practices.
OpenTelemetry (OTel) has become the go-to framework for observability instrumentation. It simplifies the process of creating consistent metrics across diverse cloud environments.
| Metric Type | OpenTelemetry Implementation | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Usage | Gauge Instrument | Tracks real-time resource consumption |
| Error Tracking | Counter | Measures cumulative errors over time |
| Response Time | UpDownCounter/Histogram | Analyses system performance |
By standardising these metrics, organisations can ensure uniformity, making it easier to monitor and optimise performance across all cloud platforms.
Once you’ve established standardised metrics, the next step is consolidating this data into a single location. For instance, Alibaba Cloud successfully unified data from over 500 instances spanning 21 regions into one monitoring platform.
While managing metrics is crucial, prioritising security is just as important - especially since misconfigurations account for 36% of cloud breaches. UK organisations must also align with local compliance standards.
| Security Focus Area | Implementation Strategy | Compliance Consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Access Control | Zero Trust Architecture | GDPR compliance |
| Data Protection | Automated monitoring | ISO 27001 certification |
| Threat Detection | AI-powered analysis | UK cyber security frameworks |
"Convergence is Critical: Cybersecurity, compliance, and technology modernisation are no longer separate domains but deeply interconnected facets of business risk and strategy."
- Steven Palange, Chief Security Officer at SoverAIgn Solutions
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have found automated security monitoring tools particularly effective. These tools enable real-time threat detection without requiring large security teams. This approach aligns with the Zero Trust Architecture principle of "never trust, always verify", creating a strong security framework for multi-cloud environments.
Keeping an eye on cloud spending isn't just about monitoring performance - it's about ensuring your multi-cloud setup remains financially sustainable. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), managing cloud costs can be especially tricky. With cloud spending predicted to rise by 28% this year, the stakes are high. On top of that, organisations waste up to 32% of their cloud budgets, highlighting the importance of effective cost tracking.
One of the biggest challenges in managing cloud expenses is uncovering hidden costs. Cross-platform cost analysis often reveals unexpected charges that can inflate overall spending. For instance, 94% of IT teams report rising cloud storage costs, with 54% noting that these costs are increasing faster than other cloud services.
| Hidden Cost Category | Common Issue | Recommended Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Data Transfer | Cross-region movement | Implement geo-aware routing |
| Idle Resources | Unused instances | Automated scheduling |
| Storage Management | Redundant backups | Lifecycle policies |
By identifying these hidden costs, businesses can take the first step towards better cost control. A study of UK SaaS companies found that addressing these areas can cut cloud spending by up to 25% annually.
For SMBs in the UK, where public cloud spending can reach up to £480,000 annually, managing costs effectively is critical. Tackling hidden expenses opens the door to smarter cost management strategies.
Here are two key approaches:
Additional best practices include:
For those looking for expert support, providers like Critical Cloud (https://criticalcloud.ai) offer managed services tailored to industries such as digital agencies, SaaS startups, and EdTech companies. Their services include automated cost monitoring, resource tagging strategies, and cost optimisation solutions to help businesses stay on top of their cloud budgets.
Keeping track of metrics across multiple cloud platforms is no small feat. It requires consistent updates to avoid being overwhelmed by alerts. Research highlights that streamlining metrics and following best practices can ease many of the challenges tied to observability across various cloud environments.
To ensure your monitoring strategy aligns with your business goals, regular reviews are essential. A combination of automated tools and manual checks can help maintain the quality and relevance of your data.
| Review Component | Frequency | Key Focus Areas |
|---|---|---|
| Data Freshness Audit | Daily | Pipeline health, timestamp verification |
| Alert Threshold Analysis | Weekly | Dynamic threshold adjustments |
| Coverage Assessment | Monthly | Infrastructure changes, new services |
| Performance Metrics | Quarterly | Historical trends, optimisation insights |
These reviews form the backbone of a reliable monitoring framework. Leveraging AI-powered anomaly detection and dynamic thresholds can further refine this process, ensuring your focus stays on actionable issues.
To combat data sprawl and keep your metrics relevant, establishing clear standards is crucial. Achieving consistency across cloud platforms involves a mix of automation, governance, and adaptable policies.
Here are some key components for building a solid metrics framework:
To keep your operations running smoothly, adjust update frequencies based on the importance of each dataset. Consider these additional measures for efficiency:
As cloud environments grow and change, monitoring tools and practices must keep pace. Regularly testing your tools can reveal gaps and help refine alert standards to address emerging vulnerabilities.
Managing metrics in a multi-cloud environment is no small feat. In fact, over 80% of IT professionals report difficulties with cloud spend management. Yet, cloud services do offer a significant upside, such as reducing routine maintenance time by an impressive 69%.
To navigate these challenges successfully, strong governance and a focus on cost metrics are essential. For example, using a master AWS organisation payer account can serve as a single source of truth for tracking cloud expenses. Pair this with real-time analytics, and you can make timely, informed cost decisions.
But cost management is just one piece of the puzzle. Ensuring security and compliance across platforms is equally important. Comprehensive multi-cloud governance not only enhances security and compliance but also improves operational efficiency.
For digital agencies, SaaS startups, and EdTech companies, here are a few actionable steps:
OpenTelemetry makes it easier to manage metrics across multi-cloud environments by providing a single framework for gathering, processing, and exporting telemetry data, including logs, metrics, and traces. By ensuring consistent data formats, it simplifies integration and helps streamline performance analysis across various cloud platforms.
Using OpenTelemetry, developers only need to instrument their applications once, and the same telemetry data can be utilised across all platforms. This reduces the hassle of managing multiple tools, improves observability, and offers better insights into system performance - key for effectively handling multi-cloud operations.
Managing unexpected costs in a multi-cloud environment calls for a thoughtful and proactive strategy. The first step is to achieve real-time visibility into your cloud spending. By using tools that unify data from various providers, you can monitor expenses, identify spending patterns, and make accurate cost projections.
To keep costs under control, focus on rightsizing your resources - ensuring they align with your actual requirements. Make use of commitment-based discounts whenever possible. Regular audits of your cloud usage can uncover underutilised resources and unexpected charges, such as data transfer fees. Automating cost management processes can also help streamline this effort, making it easier to manage expenses effectively.
If your team lacks the capacity to handle these complexities, services like Critical Cloud offer expert support. They provide tailored solutions for cost management and compliance-ready infrastructure, allowing you to maintain oversight without adding unnecessary complications.
Managing security across multiple cloud platforms can be tricky, especially since each provider comes with its own set of tools and frameworks. Without proper coordination, this can result in fragmented policies and potential vulnerabilities. Common issues like misconfigured resources or overly permissive access controls often stem from a lack of alignment between platforms.
To tackle these challenges, it's crucial to implement a unified security strategy. This means standardising security policies across all cloud services, automating compliance checks to catch issues early, and using centralised monitoring tools for a clear, consolidated view of your security metrics. Regular audits and applying consistent security measures can also go a long way in reducing risks, keeping your multi-cloud environment both secure and resilient.