EMA Enterprise Strategies for Hybrid, Multi-Cloud Networks

EMA Enterprise Strategies for Hybrid, Multi-Cloud Networks

Five reasons to review new research on the approaches enterprises are using in their hybrid, multi-cloud networks

Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) has published its 2025 "Enterprise Strategies for Hybrid, Multi-Cloud Networks" report highlighting the challenges facing enterprises as they design, build, and operate hybrid, multi-cloud networks. The study reveals details, trends, and conclusions about the status and use of cloud resources based on years of enterprise IT experience with this critical infrastructure resource.

Of the more than 350 IT professionals that participated in this year's study, 68 percent were in North America and 32 percent were in Europe, (U.K., France, and Germany), and approximately 81 percent came from companies that employed more than 2,500 employees (56 percent had between 2,500 and 9,999, and 25 percent had more than 10,000). More than 57 percent of the participants were mostly middle and upper management (VPs, CTOs, CIOs, or IT directors/managers/supervisors).

Hybrid, Multi-Cloud Has Become Mainstream

EMA's "Network Management Megatrends 2024" report revealed that more than 55 percent of enterprises have adopted a multi-cloud strategy, leveraging at least two public cloud providers. This included both infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) alternatives (see Figure 1). Fewer than 25 percent of respondents indicated that they used only one provider. Multi-cloud is very much mainstream today as part of enterprise infrastructure deployments.

Figure 1: How many public cloud providers does your organization use? (Source: Enterprise Management Associates)

The 2025 study is new research that explores several important areas that only now can reveal challenges and approaches following years of experience with cloud infrastructure and associated projects. The study probed IT respondents on their organization's technical as well as business factors in adopting multi-cloud strategies. The responses from these organizations revealed the need for improved flexibility and scalability, cost optimization, and improved digital experience as some of the top business reasons for developing a multi-cloud strategy. As for technical motivators, nearly 50 percent of respondents indicated their companies were advocating moving off of their private data centers and moving toward a cloud-first directive. These are strong corporate goals and objectives in their hybrid/multi-cloud strategies.

Five Reasons to Review This New Research

Despite the endorsement and eager adoption of these strategies, this 2025 study revealed that only 25 percent of respondents believe that their organization has been completely successful in its efforts to build and manage a hybrid, multi-cloud network. Shamus McGillicuddy, vice president of Research for Network Infrastructure and Operations at EMA, explores a number of areas to better understand where this conclusion comes from.

Here are five areas the study explores that will provide worthwhile insights for IT organizations as they make changes and enhancements in their hybrid cloud environments.

1. Rationale behind applications that stay in data centers
2. Different cloud network infrastructure choices
3. Breaking down network operations silos across the cloud
4. Automation in cloud networks
5. Cloud network observability strategies and use cases

Learn more about the latest trends in cloud deployment strategies, use cases, and observability in the 2025 EMA report "Enterprise Strategies for Hybrid, Multi-Cloud Networks."