Hybrid Cloud vs. Multi-Cloud: How Do They Compare?

Pros

Flexibility. In a digital business, you must be able to change directions quickly. Your company might need to combine public clouds, private clouds, and on-premises resources to gain a competitive advantage. 

Security. Hybrid cloud allows you to keep some data in a more controlled environment, like a private cloud. You can utilize the scaling benefits of a public cloud with the privacy and security assurances of a dedicated cloud infrastructure. 

Workload Optimization. Cloud hybrid systems allow you to leverage the best computing environment for every workload. You can keep your simpler workloads on-prem or in private cloud infrastructure. You can move your complex workloads to the public cloud, where additional capacity is low-cost and easily accessible. 

Innovation. The hybrid cloud accelerates innovation by enabling quick prototyping of new ideas and faster time to market for new products and services. 

Cons

Cost. With a hybrid cloud, you need to purchase equipment for on-premises and some private cloud options. 

Performance. When transferring data between private and public clouds, you risk a bottleneck. Transfer to the public cloud happens over the internet, which can be too slow to meet your needs. 

Pros

Flexibility. With multi-cloud, you're less dependent on any one provider. You can therefore pick and choose services depending on which provider offers the best product.  

Performance. During periods of high user demand, multi-cloud can help keep your websites and apps up and running. 

Cost. The public cloud has less overhead than other types of similar infrastructure, making a multi-cloud model a strong choice for companies looking to cut costs. Since you won’t have to commit to using one cloud vendor for all your infrastructure needs, you can choose the most affordable services from different vendors. 

Redundancy. With a multi-cloud deployment, you won't have to put all your eggs in one basket. When one cloud goes down, you can still leverage the functionality of other clouds. You can also rely on one public cloud as a backup.

Cons

Visibility. You have less visibility into your technology stack with data stored and processes running in multiple clouds. 

Security. There are likely to be more vulnerabilities when software and hardware are integrated among different cloud providers. 

When choosing between hybrid cloud and multi-cloud, you should consider what other tools you might use along with the cloud. For large semiconductor corporations that have invested in on-premises data centers, a hybrid cloud environment will help with service peak demand needs. Synopsys’s cloud-based electronic design automation (EDA) software is available as a service (SaaS) and bring your own cloud (BYOC) and uses public cloud infrastructure.

For small or medium-sized businesses looking to carry out a limited chip design project, SaaS enables you to start designing with a single contract that provides access to all the software, hardware, and expert support required. For larger companies with multiple chip design projects, BYOC enables you to maintain control over your cloud compute environment while benefiting from unlimited access to our cloud-based EDA tools.