2 IDC reports assessing post-Covid cloud growth and changes in the cloud services market
"IDC MarketScape: Global Public Cloud Infrastructure as a Service Provider Assessment" (2022) evaluated a total of 13 cloud providers , including ultra-large-scale cloud service providers, such as Amazon Cloud Technology; and fast-growing cloud service providers, such as Akamai.
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IDC has observed significant changes in the cloud market - changing business realities during COVID-19 have triggered a partial migration to public cloud IaaS. But the report believes there are "better and richer options, thanks to strategic decisions made by providers ."
Some of the changes include:
· On-premises software providers and public cloud IaaS providers establish innovative partnerships
· Single focus cloud providers moving into areas such as adding compute to storage
· Large independent software providers are moving operations to the public cloud and catering to customers who want their applications and data to run close for privacy and regulatory reasons
· Multi-cloud continues to evolve into the deployment model of choice for customers due to reasons such as service selection and provider management
Spending on public cloud IaaS has also seen significant growth, and IDC analysts believe this trend will not be reversed: “In fact, IDC estimates show that spending on public cloud IaaS will exceed that on traditional infrastructure in the next few years. and total private cloud spending.”
Another study by IDC shows that enterprises’ investment in cloud computing is distributed in various fields. Topping the list is security, with 66% of respondents expressing concerns about cyber threats and protecting sensitive data.
Additionally, 65% of organizations want to maximize the performance and availability of mission-critical applications. 60% of respondents focus on maximizing cloud resource utilization.
As CIOs become more cloud-savvy, they are exploring new deployment models and solving the challenge of optimizing workloads in multi-provider environments. There is increased interest in multi-cloud architectures and best practices for facilitating the movement of workloads between multiple public cloud providers and private clouds. This approach also extends to edge computing, where it becomes critical to deploy applications close to the user's location.
These trends have resulted in a strategy to optimize performance, security and cost by matching workloads to the most appropriate cloud provider and deployment model based on a defined set of requirements.
Find the right cloud for the right workload
IDC MarketScape highlights some key takeaways, including how to build a cloud strategy that drives innovation, saves costs, and delivers benefits:
· Developers are freed from restrictive rules set by a single cloud provider
· Allows businesses to compare prices and find products that fit their budget
· Match the right workload to the right cloud
An organization's ability to leverage a multi-cloud deployment strategy is often tied to the architecture of the workload. IDC research shows that an average of 43% of applications have been moved to the cloud. However, there is a difference between migrating legacy applications to cloud infrastructure and modernizing applications using cloud-native concepts such as containers, microservices, and declarative APIs .
According to IDC, enterprises report their applications into three broad categories:
31% are considered single-layer architectures.
32% are n-tier (front-end, business logic, database).
37% are considered cloud native using microservices design.
There are several considerations for choosing the right cloud for a specific workload: The first is to create an inventory of all existing applications, paying special attention to architecture. Next is determining usage patterns to determine if resource usage is consistent or if burst planning is needed to meet demand spikes. Performance requirements also determine whether hyperscale zones are sufficient or whether edge deployments are required. Additionally, costs, including data transfer charges and other commercial terms, can have a significant impact on cloud choice.
In principle, workloads designed using cloud-native design principles are easier to migrate to a new cloud provider. Workload performance and scalability requirements can be used to determine the best deployment approach.
The worksheet in Table 1–3 can help organizations choose a cloud provider that fits their needs.
Table 1: Portability readiness
| Is the workload based on microservices? |
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| Does communication between microservices rely on documented APIs? |
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| Does the workload require a virtual machine? |
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| Is the workload implemented using containers? |
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| Does the workload use any serverless computing capabilities? |
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| Does the workload depend on any specific open source projects? |
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| Does the workload depend on any provider-specific platform services (e.g., PaaS)? |
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| Does the workload require storing/persisting data in a database? |
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Source: IDC, 2022
Table 2: Performance and scalability
| Will workloads benefit from geographic diversity of deployment locations? |
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| Are workload demands consistent, or are usage patterns different? |
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| What is the maximum network latency allowed to maintain a good user experience? |
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| Does the workload have content/media elements (e.g. images, videos)? |
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| How much data does the workload manage? |
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| How much data is involved in transferring from the cloud to the endpoint (outbound)? |
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Source: IDC, 2022
Table 3: Additional standards
| Are any elements of the workload subject to data sovereignty regulations? |
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| Does the workload integrate with any on-premises systems in the hybrid cloud model? |
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| Are there any specific security requirements that require Zero Trust Segmentation? |
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| Do you have automated tools to track and optimize cloud costs? |
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Source: IDC, 2022
The above checklist is helpful when deciding on which cloud to deploy your workloads. Workloads that meet five or more portability criteria require less effort to move across environments.
Therefore, these are important candidates for considering switching to a supplier that offers the best value for money and operational capabilities.
Akamai + Linode join forces to become a new choice for enterprise multi-cloud
IDC MarketScape mentioned in its profile on Akamai , "Content delivery network (CDN) provider Akamai announced plans to acquire Linode for $900 million, immediately becoming a prominent new force in the public cloud IaaS field."
The report states , "If there's one thing Akamai has going for it, it's a passionate user base. At the time of the acquisition, Linode had more than 150,000 active customers."
Akamai , which acquired Linode, "now offers a broad portfolio of open source compute, storage, networking, database and other middle-tier software and development tools. This lineup can be combined with Akamai's (original ) CDN , serverless and network security services. " By the end of 2023, Akamai will add new Linode data centers in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. This expansion complements and integrates Akamai's globally distributed network, which currently consists of 4,200 locations. Operating in 135 countries and regions around the world.”
Looking ahead, the report states: " The combination of Akamai and Linode should now be able to meet the needs of a broader audience for cloud computing by offering a broad portfolio of cloud, CDN and security products. Business models in many industries rely on In a world of reliable delivery of rich content, Akamai appears poised for greater success with IaaS."
If your enterprise is also considering joining multi-cloud deployment, click the following link to learn about Akamai Linode's solutions:
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