What is Cloud Agnostic?

According to Colorlib, 94% of companies worldwide utilized a form of cloud computing tech in 2023, making a 14% jump from numbers reported in 2020. Cloud computing adoption is only growing, though the case for many cloud service providers (CSP) requires singular and monogamous commitment to an individual CSP. For that reason, many companies are looking towards a cloud agnostic approach, combining the capabilities of CSPs like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and more.

But how does this work? 

The cloud agnostic approach is a cloud strategy that involves designing or using cloud computing apps, tools, and services that are able to seamlessly migrate between cloud services and on-premise options. This approach to cloud computing gives your organization the freedom of choice when it comes to operations- combining the best capabilities of individual CSPs without driving up costs significantly. The cloud agnostic approach has also been linked to more consistent performance and easier scaling.

‍

Going cloud agnostic seems like a no-brainer: operational flexibility with the ability to switch between clouds are certainly strong selling points. But is this solution suitable for your developmental needs?

The Compelling Case of Cloud Agnostic Architecture

Cloud agnostic architecture sees companies switching to or designing systems and applications that are easily usable across different cloud platforms. One of the biggest selling points for this sentiment is to escape vendor lock-in.

When your products or services are heavily reliant on the tools and services offered by a single cloud platform, your organization falls prey to vendor lock-in. 

With the foundation of your solutions being heavily integrated with the solutions offered by a single CSP, you might find it hard to migrate to different platforms, hard enough to where staying with that CSP becomes an easier option. Becoming reliant on a single cloud platform and experiencing vendor lock-in leaves your organization vulnerable to changes from the CSP. Solution pricing hikes, service discontinuations, and solution adjustments are all possibilities, ones that you have no choice but to endure. 

Now more than ever, cloud agnosticism is of the utmost importance. Although a single cloud provider might check all the boxes and meet your financial, developmental, and functional needs, it is unwise to depend on them solely- especially within an ever-evolving cloud environment. Should that house of cards begin to fall, you’ll have to react quickly to adjust your infrastructure and applications to adapt to change. With cloud agnostic applications, you can safeguard your company’s operations and run on any cloud platform. 

The Pros and Cons of Going Cloud Agnostic

Going cloud agnostic is helpful for most businesses, though other solutions may prefer a singular cloud. Here are some things to consider:

The Pros

Wide Availability of Cloud Agnostic Tools

Cloud tech is ever-evolving; right now it’s a game changer, but down the line the sentiment of cloud computing might change. Tying your organization within a single cloud platform and solution is not the wisest move- going cloud agnostic lets you operate on any cloud platform. 

By using cloud agnostic tools, you’re able to react quickly to any changes in your current situation, allowing you to switch as better tooling is rolled out. Cloud agnosticism lets you embrace the latest tech.

Scaling When Needed

Going cloud agnostic lets you move apps to several servers with ease, enabling you to put your tools on private or public cloud platforms, as well as onto on-premise servers. In the case of obstacles and increased demand, you’re able to easily scale your applications, giving the power back to your application developers.

It’s All About Freedom

Probably the most significant benefit of cloud agnosticism is freedom. You’re able to take control of your tools, tailoring them with the features you need and nothing more. If a certain application for your business doesn’t exist, you can develop a customized cloud application, too.

Avoiding vendor lock-in has never been easier with cloud agnosticism.

Lower Costs

Cloud agnostic strategies let you lower long-term costs without sacrificing efficiency. 

On a single cloud approach, you’re often locked within a provider and subject to any price hikes they deem fit. By going cloud agnostic, you can move from platform to platform if there is a better deal, switching as costs become too high or tools become obsolete to your tech operations.

Greater Reliability

When you spread workloads across several cloud platforms, you’ll avoid downtime and potential redundancy if problems occur. If a singular service is down, you’ll be able to rely on other services as well as backups.

The Cons

High Upfront Costs

Yes, cloud technology does have the potential to save you money in the long run, but you will face higher upfront costs as you develop and deploy applications. In addition, you might not use out-of-the-box tools and will need other unique features, features that are often offered at a premium. 

A cloud agnostic approach can speed up your development and lower costs, but comes at a higher cost initially. Lyrid effectively helps alleviate these issues with their cloud agnostic automation.

Unused Features

Cloud platforms are often built to excel in particular areas, take AWS for example. Amazon’s service is geared towards the needs of eCommerce businesses. If your organization needs highly tailored features, such as some offered by AWS, then that option might be favorable over cloud agnostics.

In addition, building an application to work on a particular platform will work great on that platform, but not on others. In this case, going cloud agnostic might create unused features that are sinking your budget.

Cloud-Native vs Cloud Agnostic

The antithesis to the cloud agnostic approach, a cloud-native approach enables developers to build applications natively within a specific cloud environment and platform. Cloud-native architecture sees unique features offered within a cloud platform, the main drawing points for using that platform.

Cloud-native vs cloud agnostic has been a heavily debated topic in the cloud space. Although both approaches have the end goal of hosting your application in the cloud, the approaches towards achieving this goal are extremely different.

When considering cloud-native vs. cloud agnostic, you should examine these three elements:

Choosing the Best Cloud Agnostic Solution

In Flexera’s 2024 State of The Cloud Report, it was revealed that 89% of organizations are embracing cloud approaches that involve a hybrid cloud approach heavily reminiscent of cloud agnosticism. 

The shift towards adopting a cloud agnostic strategy is only growing, here are a few key strategies to consider before making the switch:

• Use a managed database service: most public cloud offerings provide managed database installs, management, maintenance, and database access. The big 3 hyperscalers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, GCP) are all great options when creating a cloud agnostic solution, but some databases are still platform reliant. Using databases that rely on open-source databases like PostgreSQL/MySQL provide portability and are worth consideration.
• Open Container Initiative (OCIF), RedHat CoreOS Rkt, Docker, and Kubernetes are viable container options: containerizing packages application components into a single unit that is easily and safely transported across different cloud environments- thus helping you avoid vendor lock-in.
• Automate repeatable tasks: repeatable tasks are time consuming- delegating these tasks in a multi-cloud environment through automation makes each function easier, freeing up your time.
• Create a migration solution of on-premise workloads to a cloud platform: migration is normally complicated and requires skilled personnel and more resources. With multi-cloud, you’re able to migrate seamlessly

Going Cloud Agnostic with Lyrid

Freeing yourself from being dependent on a single platform is liberating. Instead of having to worry about being vulnerable to price hikes and solution changes, a cloud agnostic approach can give you a peace of mind.

With Lyrid, you can code, develop, deploy, and manage web applications using native serverless tech on any cloud vendor. You create a codebase with no public cloud signature, we analyze, pack, and remotely build it into various artifacts for deployment on any cloud platform through Lyrid.

We offer a variety of solutions that easily integrate with different cloud providers. From Managed Kubernetes to quick and easy Managed Databases, Lyrid offers cloud agnostic solutions for every app, letting you escape free from single vendors while efficiently developing and deploying your app. 

If you’re interested in learning more about our approach to multi-cloud tech and how our cloud agnostic services can help your app development, book a call with one of our product specialists!