Published on the 25/02/2014 | Written by Newsdesk
With cloud computing being embraced by enterprise, research firm Ovum predicts that the need for cloud services will accelerate rapidly as organisations seek advice on the best cloud ecosystem for their needs…
In early 2013, research firm Ovum declared the debate over cloud services’ role in the enterprise largely over. Earlier this month, the IDC MarketScape report for companies which implement Salesforce solutions also demonstrated the rise of a new breed of services focused solely on cloud advisory services. The results released this week of the Ovum ‘2014 Trends-to-Watch: Cloud Services’ report, show the importance of cloud services.
Report author and Ovum IT services practice leader John Madden says: “The rate of cloud adoption is quickly accelerating; cloud breaks through in virtually every customer conversation. This accelerated activity applies not only to private or virtual private cloud models which remain the dominant method of deployment, but increasingly public and hybrid cloud management models as well.
“More customers in all regions are taking their first steps toward broader cloud services investments, usually with initial forays into infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) or software-as-a-service (SaaS) and an eye toward other projects if successful. All signs point to an even more accelerated investment timeline for customers throughout 2014.”
Customers are not only intent on moving to the cloud but they are looking for integrated solutions rather than isolated applications and seeking help to determine which cloud platform and third party applications best suit their business needs. Madden notes that cloud solutions based solely on cost will deliver limited benefits in the long run for corporate customers – instead cloud services investments in 2014 must be built on a solid bedrock of business values to effect long-term benefit.
He says: “This cloud-based transformation is increasingly occurring hand-in-hand with changes in how enterprise customers want to engage with IT services providers, as customers in all industries are looking to consolidate the number of strategic suppliers they work with.”
As a result Ovum predicts there will be a noticeable number of acquisitions, partnerships and alliances in 2014. Some of these will involve traditional IT services and outsourcing firms acquiring more data centre capacity in anticipation of the spike in cloud-based infrastructure outsourcing deals, while others will be outsourcers acquiring niche or start-up cloud players to provide management of hybrid cloud environments.
