Multi-Cloud Mastery: Lessons from a CIO on Choosing the Right Cloud for the Job

In an exclusive interview, Prosenjit Sengupta, Group Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO), shares insights on ITC's cloud journey, discussing the challenges, benefits, and best practices of leveraging Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud.

- Aanchal Ghatak

By selecting the best-fit platform for each use case, from migrating SAP workloads to AWS to utilizing AI-driven analytics on Azure, the strategy enhances flexibility, security, and cost-effectiveness. Sengupta emphasizes how this approach allows the organization to stay agile, innovate effectively, and ensure robust data protection across various environments. Excerpts from an interview:

What factors influenced your organization’s decision to adopt a hybrid or multi-cloud strategy over a single-cloud approach?

We’re effectively leveraging all three major hyperscalers—Microsoft Azure, Amazon, and Google Cloud—for different use cases. Rather than applying a single cloud provider to a specific function, we adopt a multi-cloud strategy based on the unique strengths each platform brings to the table. For instance, when we transitioned one of our business units’ SAP environment from on-premises to the cloud, we chose Amazon Web Services. Meanwhile, for other applications, such as AI-driven analytics for trade promotions and product marketing mix optimization, we have built a data lake on Microsoft Azure.

Additionally, we are working with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for other specialized use cases. This multi-cloud approach allows us to leverage the unique capabilities of each hyperscaler. For example, we’re setting up a landing zone to run large language models (LLMs) for generative AI applications. Each hyperscaler offers distinct LLM capabilities—OpenAI’s models through Microsoft Azure, Amazon’s proprietary LLMs, and Google’s Gemini—each tailored to serve different generative AI applications.