International Data Corporation (IDC)
today published a new assessment of eight global public cloud
infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers. The IDC MarketScape report
uses a comprehensive framework to assess these vendors relative to a
set of criteria that explain both short-term and long-term success in
the public cloud IaaS market. The results placed Amazon Web Services and
Microsoft in the Leaders category. The other companies evaluated in
this MarketScape report are: Alibaba, Google, IBM, Oracle, OVHcloud, and
Tencent.
Over
the past several years, public cloud IaaS has become the preferred
infrastructure backbone for digital transformation (DX) initiatives and
IT modernization. As enterprises execute on their DX strategy, they are
deploying new technologies that extend the digital reach of the
enterprise and increase the business value of data. Public cloud will
continue to be an agile, accessible source for these technologies for
most enterprises, which will result in a greater share of DX spending
being earmarked for public cloud IaaS. IDC estimates that enterprise IT
spending on public cloud IaaS will exceed spending on traditional
infrastructure and private cloud infrastructure systems within the next
five years.
"The
use of public cloud IaaS by enterprises has rapidly increased in the
past two years, creating new demands and new expectations of services,"
said Deepak Mohan, research director, Cloud Infrastructure Services at
IDC. "Cloud providers have been quick to respond, with partnerships,
service expansions, and easier onboarding, to better enable workload
transition and digital transformation for enterprises. The effectiveness
of each provider's response, and the ability to continue addressing new
demands from enterprises, is emerging as a critical determinant of
success in this market."
Three developments have helped propel the public cloud IaaS market to its current state over the past several years:
- Deep
partnerships between public cloud IaaS providers and traditional
enterprise technology providers that facilitate easier adoption of
public cloud IaaS alongside existing IT assets.
- Growth
in cloud offerings from traditional infrastructure systems providers to
better serve enterprise IT customers as they explore paths to modernize
their IT systems.
- A
shift in mainstream IT customer perception around cloud usage from
"opportunistic cloud usage" to "cloud first" to "cloud everywhere."
As
the market continues to evolve and grow, several new trends are
emerging that are likely to shape the future direction of public cloud
IaaS. These include: a growing focus on the edge and edge solutions
enabled by 5G; greater interest in automation and intelligence,
especially as it relates to infrastructure operations, governance, and
security; and the need for a holistic approach to enterprise data
management. In addition, the market is seeing increased use of multiple
public cloud IaaS by enterprises, with the mix of cloud providers often
determined by the best fit for workload, use case, or industry-specific
requirements.
"The
consolidation in the public cloud IaaS market has made it easier for
customers to quickly determine the vendor that is best for their
workload or use case and begin their evaluation without having to
solicit information from dozens of providers. But it also increases the
direct competition between the major players, particularly in key
enterprise verticals that are driving cloud growth such as healthcare,
government, and financial services. The next several years will be
interesting as IaaS providers strive to differentiate their offerings in
the battle for market share," added Mohan.
The report, IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Public Cloud Infrastructure as a Service 2020 Vendor Assessment (IDC
#US46795720), provides an assessment of eight global public cloud
infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers. The assessment is based on
their current capabilities and future plans for delivering public cloud
IaaS.