The expanding domain of Generative AI is quickly becoming a pivotal aspect of enterprise innovation, with an impressive 66% of participants in IDC’s Future Enterprise Resiliency and Spending Survey recognizing its critical role. As this landscape evolves, the management of AI workloads across diverse environments becomes a crucial challenge, with issues such as latency, security, and connectivity at the forefront.

In our view, a hybrid and multicloud networking strategy is not merely an option but a necessity for enterprises that leverage AI and operate within multiple cloud and on-premises infrastructures and environments.

In the cloud ecosystem, every provider presents a distinct set of tools and security measures, specifically designed to protect the applications and data within their infrastructure. However, many enterprises find themselves navigating across three to six different environments, each with proprietary networking frameworks, which further complicates the creation of a secure, integrated network infrastructure.

To demonstrate the transformative impact of hybrid and multicloud networking on AI workloads, let us consider the case of Sentient.io. This Singapore-based AI and data platform provider is revolutionizing the way businesses access AI technologies. By leveraging F5 Distributed Cloud Services, Sentient.io streamlined its operations across multiple cloud environments, resulting in lower operating costs and the enablement of real-time AI processing at the edge. Their collaboration with F5 has facilitated a seamless deployment and management of AI models, leading to a unified Platform as a Service (PaaS) experience that empowers real-time insights and decision-making for enterprises across various industries. Learn more about how Sentient is democratizing AI with help from F5.

Key factors and security considerations that NetOps must address to successfully manage the digital transformation journey and AI workloads include:

Secure Multicloud Networking Fabric: A top priority for NetOps should be the implementation of a cloud-agnostic solution that seamlessly integrates all cloud environments, public and private, as well as edge locations, into a cohesive and secure network.

Application-Centric Networking: It is essential to adopt a networking solution that prioritizes the delivery of application services, facilitating secure access across various environments without the need for complex network configurations or extensive firewall rules.

Decentralized Network and Application Security: Given the evolving threat landscape, it is critical to deploy security solutions at the application delivery points. This approach not only minimizes the attack surface but also enhances security by providing targeted protection for each application, effectively defending against application layer attacks such as XSS, SQL injection, CSRF, XXE injection, path traversal, and API abuse.

Comprehensive Network Visibility: A comprehensive solution that offers a complete overview of network and application performance and security is indispensable. Such a solution should enable real-time insights, proactive monitoring, and the ability to respond quickly to security incidents across the multicloud infrastructure.

Collaborative Framework: It is beneficial to select a solution that promotes collaboration among NetOps, SecOps, and DevOps teams. A unified approach to policy management and visibility can significantly enhance the efficiency and security of multicloud networking.

By adhering to these principles, NetOps can effectively tackle the complexities of multicloud networking, ensuring robust security from the network to the application layer, while maintaining end-to-end visibility and control. A strategic and well-architected multicloud approach can unlock the full potential of digital transformation initiatives. This guide serves as a critical resource to support your secure and effective hybrid and multicloud strategy.

For more information on how F5 can help, visit f5.com/multicloud.