Somewhere in the game of telephone between the practitioners with boots on the ground and the decision makers guiding enterprise strategy and objectives, vital insights can be lost. Our team is fortunate to be part of a strong community that talks about the nuances and complexities of cloud networking every day. And, in an effort to shed light on some of those discussions, we regularly ask our community to share their experiences.
This year, we’ve compiled those insights and trends into the 2024 Secure Cloud Networking Field Report. We surveyed 400+ cloud, networking, and security professionals from across the globe, and uncovered the most significant challenges that practitioners are confronting around cloud network visibility, security, costs, and the skills gap.
The results also provided helpful direction about how we might solve some of the industry’s biggest problems. Here are four key takeaways we gleaned from the report, along with what we’re doing to help enterprises overcome them.
Prioritize cloud visibility for downstream benefits.
The perceived lack of visibility when it comes to cloud-based technologies is leading to downstream challenges including migration delays, network outages, and cost overruns. As organizations seek to address these negative outcomes, solutions that enhance IT teams’ cloud visibility are a natural starting point.
Aviatrix provides a simple platform through which network teams can manage their cloud infrastructure, regardless of the cloud providers they are using. Its management interface delivers consistent, centralized, enterprise-grade operational control and troubleshooting capabilities across all cloud environments. By deploying Aviatrix, organizations can quickly create a centralized cloud networking and security operations center. Learn more about Aviatrix cloud network and security operations here.
Redefine security best practices to take full advantage of the cloud.
As practitioners report, the majority of businesses have not redefined their approaches to security since moving to cloud – the majority have either lifted-and-shifted their on-prem approach or are defaulting to tools provided by their CSPs. These current approaches have led to security risks, cloud network outages, and missed cloud migration deadlines.
Modernizing security approaches to “built-for-cloud” solutions will improve cloud security outcomes by design. Practitioners surveyed also suggest that organizations should look toward the convergence of networking and security in the cloud in order to simplify operations and reduce business risk.
Unique in its ability to bridge the gap between traditional network security and cloud, the Aviatrix Distributed Cloud Firewall provides uncompromising cloud security by distributing inspection and enforcement, enhancing security, scalability, agility, and cost savings. It eliminates the hassle of traffic redirection, disrupting traditional approaches to network security. Learn more about the Aviatrix Distributed Cloud Firewall here.
Set realistic expectations around cloud costs, but also prepare for cost overruns.
The lack of visibility and predictability when it comes to cloud costs emerged as a core challenge and increased concern within this report. The volume and frequency of cost overruns reported by practitioners indicate there’s work to be done around better understanding cloud usage and spending trends.
Costs will also likely become a more pressing issue as GenAI initiatives take flight, requiring significant compute power and speed compared to previous programs. Organizations will be pressed to set realistic expectations and implement cloud cost controls, but would be well-served by understanding the common volume and frequency of cost overruns.
Harnessing the power of network flow telemetry built into the Aviatrix Secure Cloud Network, CostIQ enables organizations to track actual network traffic from cost centers (sources) to shared cloud resources (destinations). With CostIQ, organizations can take control of cloud costs by gaining an accurate breakdown of accounts or subscriptions utilizing the shared resources in the public cloud, and define cost centers to quickly identify shared resources through a simple and intuitive interface. Learn more about CostIQ here.
Prioritize upskilling for cloud through training and certifications.
In line with past years, cloud, networking, and security practitioners shared strong concerns over a lack of personnel and skills within their organizations. Even as the tech jobs market tightens, companies have struggled to hire candidates with the necessary skills to support their cloud initiatives, hindering cloud maturity and network reliability.
Instead, organizations are more commonly prioritizing training and certifications through sources such as the Aviatrix Certified Engineer (ACE) Program, YouTube, Udemy, LinkedIn, and individual CSP certifications to upskill their teams. Practitioners undertaking cloud training or certifications also report reaping the benefits of their investments in terms of career and prospect growth.
The Aviatrix Certified Engineer (ACE) Program is the industry’s premier multicloud networking certification. ACE offers comprehensive training and specialized courses that cover building, operating, automating, scaling, and securing cloud networks across AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI. Practitioners participating in the ACE Program gain valuable best practices applicable to all major cloud providers, whether or not they use Aviatrix. Learn more about the ACE Program here.
If you’d like to read more from the 2024 Secure Cloud Networking Field Report, you can download the full survey report here. We’ll also be talking through the findings with industry practitioners and experts in an upcoming webinar on February 13 at 9am Pacific Time/12pm Eastern Time. And as always, if you’re grappling with any of these issues in your organization, we hope to hear from you soon.
