Beyond silos: Multicloud file storage now

In an increasingly data-driven economy, enterprises in India are turning to multicloud strategies to meet diverse business demands. With the exponential growth of unstructured data across sectors, organizations are looking for ways to manage, access, and protect information seamlessly across cloud platforms. This is not just about storage—it’s about building resilient, scalable, and compliant data infrastructures.

According to Gartner, more than 50% of enterprises will use industry cloud platforms by 2028 to drive business innovation and agility. Here are five key trends redefining the multicloud storage landscape in India:

1. Hybrid and multicloud integration: Breaking down data silos

Many Indian organizations adopting hybrid or multicloud models often encounter data silos that hinder real-time data access and limit analytics capabilities. The rise of integrated multicloud architectures is helping break these silos, enabling a unified view of data across disparate environments.

This shift is particularly crucial in India, where regulatory mandates such as the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act and data localization requirements from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) demand local data storage. Sectors like banking and fintech are centralizing their data storage strategies to meet compliance, while maintaining performance and flexibility across platforms.

2. Cloud-native file storage: Driving scalability and agility

Cloud-native file storage, built specifically for cloud environments, is gaining traction among enterprises seeking flexible and scalable solutions. These systems allow organizations to expand or contract their storage capacities based on demand—essential for managing spikes in data volumes.

This trend is accelerating in sectors like automotive, e-commerce, digital banking, and telecommunications, where high-speed data processing and real-time analytics are business-critical. The growing scale of UPI transactions, online retail ecosystems, and digital payments in India has further underscored the need for elastic, high-performance storage solutions.

3. Unified data management: Streamlining governance and compliance

Beyond storage, multicloud success hinges on unified data management—centralized frameworks that encompass access control, data governance, and regulatory compliance. Indian enterprises are increasingly implementing consistent data policies to ensure security and transparency across platforms.

Insights from the Protiviti-CII CIO Insights 2024–25 Report indicate that Indian CIOs are focused on enabling seamless access to data while maintaining control and compliance. Leading banks and financial institutions are already adopting hybrid cloud approaches to align with regulatory expectations and improve operational efficiency.

4. AI and machine learning integration: Unlocking real-time insights

Multicloud environments create ideal conditions for AI and machine learning by integrating diverse data sources and enabling faster data mobility. With AI budgets rising in India—36% of Indian firms are now prioritizing AI initiatives within existing IT spend—organizations are using multicloud storage as a foundation for intelligent analytics.

By analyzing data distributed across platforms, AI can drive predictive insights, streamline operations, and support real-time decision-making. This is proving invaluable across industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, where agility and insight directly impact competitiveness.

5. Edge computing in multicloud: Reducing latency and enhancing sovereignty

As IoT adoption grows and real-time data becomes more critical, edge computing is emerging as a key component of multicloud strategies. By enabling data processing closer to the source, edge computing reduces latency, enhances responsiveness, and helps organizations stay compliant with data sovereignty laws.

In India, this approach is gaining momentum across automotive, agriculture, and smart city projects, where immediate data processing can power real-time navigation, predictive maintenance, or precision agriculture. With Gartner predicting that 75% of data will be processed outside traditional data centers by 2026, the fusion of edge and multicloud is becoming a necessity.

The future of multicloud file storage

As enterprises continue generating massive volumes of data, the push toward unified, secure, and scalable storage solutions will only intensify. The multicloud model enables organizations to transcend the limitations of isolated data silos, fostering a more agile, insight-driven, and compliant digital environment.

This shift isn’t just about managing data—it’s about transforming business operations for the digital age. By embracing a multicloud future, Indian enterprises can unlock innovation, enhance decision-making, and build a sustainable edge in a competitive global economy.

Author: Ripu Bajwa, Director of Sales and General Manager of Data Protection and Unstructured Data Solutions at Dell Technologies India