Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2016. Read them in this 8th Annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Dave LeClair, VP of Product Marketing, Unitrends
Cloud – The smoke clears in the Data Protection market
As we wind down 2015, it is time once again to look ahead to the coming year — and it doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that in 2016, the cloud is going to be absolutely transformative for the data protection market.
Indeed, cloud technologies have dramatically changed a wide array of industries and allowed business of all sizes to innovate faster. Every day more enterprises shift budget from traditional datacenters to the cloud. But, to date, we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of what effect this will have the dynamics of the industry. Here are the three major things that I anticipate will happen in 2016.
1) Hybrid-cloud backup becomes mainstream
Backup and recovery is typically cited as one of the top use cases for cloud. However, large numbers of enterprises have continued with legacy solutions for archival and data retention, such as using tapes or replicating between backup appliances located in different offices. In 2015, we saw a major upswing in cloud adoption for storing backup copies. Enterprises are realizing that cloud backup is more efficient, more reliable, less error prone and enables automated disaster recovery better than traditional methods.
In 2016, I expect to see cloud backup and DRaaS become the norm for new backup solution deployments for organizations of all sizes. The benefits are simply too overwhelming to ignore unless there is an absolute prohibition against cloud, which is most common in highly regulated industries. Most enterprises however can easily benefit with lower OpEx and CapEx with cloud backup.
2) True leaders emerge for broad hyperscale cloud and purpose built cloud solutions
Just 18-24 months ago it seemed like every vendor was announcing major investments in building their own IaaS or PaaS solution. In addition to expansions by Amazon, Google and Microsoft, we saw multi-billion dollar plans announced from companies like HP, IBM, and others. And smaller players were rushing to jump in as well, frequently announcing a “cloud-washed” version of existing products or explaining how they hooked into the cloud. Since that time, a lot has changed. We have seen some clear leaders, such as Amazon, emerge with massive market share, while others, such as HP, have recently backed off on their plans. Enterprises have become educated on cloud and now see cloud-washed solutions for what they are – nothing more than marketing spin.
In 2016, this picture will clarify completely. Hyperscale solutions from Amazon, Microsoft and Google will stand head and shoulders above the rest as the clear mega-cloud players. Other hyperscale players will either continue to struggle or drop out of the race completely in 2016.
I also expect other purpose built cloud solutions winners to emerge. Clouds built for a specific purpose, such as data protection, or to meet a specific industry’s requirements, are growing with triple-digit CAGRs. However, the time left to establish these solutions is diminishing, particularly in the areas of data protection and DRaaS. If a company has not clearly established their cloud credentials in 2016, they may never get there with a platform that customers embrace. Vendors who continue to try spin a solution that is merely a cobbled-together collection of interfaces and partners, will struggle to catch up with those that have complete, innovative cloud solutions.
3) Data protection players get disrupted by changing technology
As the PC and Internet shook up the IT space in the 1990s, sending vendors like Wang, DEC, Prime, and others packing, cloud and mobile is disrupting the industry today. Past leaders are withering and new pacesetters are emerging, particularly in the data protection space. The impact of changing markets has created an environment where enterprises are left to wonder what will become of many data protection solutions, as the traditional vendors (e.g. HP, Symantec, Dell, and EMC) are going through major shakeups, buyouts and/or mergers. And, rumors of spinoff, consolidated or kill products are swirling. What will become of the data protection solutions from those companies in 2016? You really do need real crystal ball to predict that!
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About the Author
Dave LeClair is vice president of product marketing at Unitrends, the leader in enterprise-level cloud recovery. He has 25 years of engineering and marketing experience working for both technology startups and established technology companies, including Stratus Technologies, Avaya, Vibren, National Semiconductor and NEC Computers.
