Multi-cloud becoming conscious strategy: Citrix

With multi-cloud becoming a conscious strategy, the need to make applications truly cloud-native and thereby, also reducing architectural dependencies on a specific cloud service, has also increased. Vijay Jayaraman, Director - System Engineering, India & SAARC, Citrix, tells us more. Excerpts:

DQ: How has cloud evolved over time and what role has this played in accelerating business growth?

Vijay Jayaraman: The concept of on-demand resourcing from a common pool, has existed for a long time now. Although, its potential has only been fully realized during the past decade! Cloud computing is one of the solutions that has seen the fastest growth during this time and is expected to grow further.

According to a recent IDC report, spending on public cloud and infrastructure in India is forecasted to value at $6.3 billion by 2022. For enterprises looking to drive their growth in the coming years, embracing cloud computing solutions will become key. This change also brings with it an evolution in the role of CTOs and CIOs. Whether or not a company should undergo cloud transformation is no longer the question. Rather, questions pertaining to the services and operations of cloud, its cost, its utility to the business, and its fast pace, are dominating the conversation.

DQ: What is the recent trend of companies shifting to a multi-cloud strategy?

Vijay Jayaraman: For enterprises, large and small, multi-cloud has become a strategic thought. As the wave of public cloud adoption is maturing every passing year, enterprises have started realizing that they don’t want to risk their data by becoming overly dependent on a single cloud provider. Besides this, companies have also started seeing the varying levels of efficiencies one can achieve using a multi-cloud strategy, while also being able to shift workloads, if necessary.

With multi-cloud becoming a conscious strategy, the need to make applications truly cloud-native and thereby, also reducing architectural dependencies on a specific cloud service, has also increased. This is exactly why cloud-native development and architecture enabled by technologies like multi cloud will continue to garner a lot of attention and pace, especially amongst enterprises.

DQ: Why do you think there is a need to replace traditional WAN with SD-WAN?

Vijay Jayaraman: Enterprises took the leap to cloud in the last few years and are now taking the next step by moving to a multi cloud strategy. However, traditional WAN with conventional routers are not cloud friendly. Backhauling all the traffic then becomes necessary from branch offices to a hub or the headquarter data centre – including that destined to the cloud – where advanced security inspection services can be applied.

SD-WAN allows enterprises to leverage multiple transport services to securely connect users to applications, including MPLS, LTE and broadband internet services. Centralized Orchestration and Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) are two key features that make SD-WAN much more preferred over traditional WAN today with the provisioning and greater visibility.

Enterprises with global presence are embracing SD-WANs rapidly, shifting from the traditional WAN, because they help businesses drive agility, enhance productivity and dramatically lower cost.

DQ: How has SD-WAN helped drive the “Work from Anywhere” work culture?

Vijay Jayaraman: Over the last few years, building a ‘work from anywhere’ business culture to reduce costs, and boost productivity, has been a core talk point for many enterprises. Inflexible working practices can have quite an impact on an employee along with putting many limitations on a business.

SD-WAN does not limit your accessibility, making it ideal for a flexible work culture. It not only offers application performance and cost savings but also a more secure network when it comes to accessibility from remote locations, among numerous other benefits. You can also scale the deployment of your WAN to fit the needs of your company, with cloud applications. As and when traffic increases, you can restructure your WAN as necessary and move your applications to the cloud.

DQ: What are some of Citrix’s offerings in the networking space?

Vijay Jayaraman: While Citrix SD-WAN has been our most talked about product, when it comes to the networking space, we have a wide range of services that we provide our customers with, including the Citrix ADC, Citrix ADM and Citrix Gateway, among others.

Our networking solutions provide complete app reliability, to deliver resources on any connected device along with ensuring the best experience. We also ensure that IT gets the visibility to control and optimize performance, pre-empt threats and secure end-user files, apps and devices.

Keeping pace with the digital needs of modern businesses, Citrix SD-WAN delivers exceptional application experiences for workspaces while also ensuring automated connectivity at all times. Integrated visibility and overall control of the WAN is also something that Citrix SD-WAN is known for.